Too Busy for Jesus

Too Busy for Jesus

Reflections by Rev. Harry Stackhouse 

Proverbs 4:23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence.  For from it flow the springs of life.”

Luke 10:38-42 “Now as they were traveling along, He (Jesus) entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcome Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparation; and she came up to Him, and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away.”

The call into the service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a blessing of the highest order. With that call comes many challenges from without (worldly temptations, and from within (spiritually unhealthy personal behaviors) .  One could say that young pastors and many older pastors fall into the traps set by the devil himself. The devil’s trick is to have you operate in the flesh and not in the Spirit.  He works hard to pronounce you spiritually dead.   

Some of his tactics are to get you too busy to spend time in the presence of God, become complacent, become greedy, gossiping, the quest for position and power.

A good place to activate your spiritual awareness is to put yourself in Martha’s shoes.  Martha was being a servant to Jesus with all of her heart.  She was operating from the gifts God had given her (a good thing, but at the time not the most important thing). The most important thing was being in the presence of he Lord, gleaning from the heavenly wisdom and knowledge that only He would have.

Martha was too busy doing and not gleaning from the King of Kings.

The tendency to be busy about “the work of the Lord”, can sometimes become a hindrance to your spiritual maturity.  Being busy becomes the consumer of your soul. There is this false concept that says doing more is better and is more important in God’s eyes. Doing “more” may not necessarily be what God has for us, especially if it takes us away from His presence. You might find yourselves falling in love with the “work of the Lord” than the “Lord of the work”.

Slow down and make meeting with the Lord the highest priority of the day, because:

·      Busyness takes you away from the feet of Jesus where you can listen (Luke 10:39).

·      The paths of life are made known and there is the fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11)

·      Protection is found in the presence. (Psalm 31:19-20)