³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

One of the great lessons learned through this passage is the quiet action of Mary. It seems as Martha and Mary are in direct contrast to each other. Martha is rushing about making all kinds of preparations while Mary is sitting quiet and still before the Lord. Martha is distanced from the Lord; Mary is quite close. Martha is distracted; Mary is focused. Martha is frustrated while Mary is at peace.

Notice how calm and collected Mary is. She is at peace…even when being accused to her face (unjustly, mind you). She is simply soaking up the Lord and all He has to say. Then when these accusations and comments start to fly, Mary simply sits and the Lord defends her. What can we learn fro this?

Time before the Lord calms our lives.

Mary was probably accustomed to working hard. Having watched her sister serve, Mary was not a slacker because she was spending time at the Lord’s feet. She simply had a different priority. When we take the time to sit with the Lord awhile, things move into perspective. A calmness can be found and peace can be given when we spend time with Jesus. If there’s anything we need in our speed of light living society it’s a downshift into peace. Time before the Lord can truly calm our lives if we will take time to be quiet and still.

The Lord defends us.

Learning to let the Lord speak up and for us can be a challenge. If I were in Mary’s shoes here, I would have probably jumped up and immediately started defending myself, my actions and given Martha a few of my own words to justify my actions. Mary is such a great example of trusting Jesus and loving her sister. There are times when we simply need to be quiet and let the Lord do all the talking for us, on our behalf and in correcting others. Far too many people are playing the role of the Holy Spirit in people’s lives. If God’s Spirit is within someone, they will know the Lord’s correction quite clearly. My position needs to be like Mary, simply still and quiet before the Lord and let Him work things out in His own timing and way. He speaks when He needs to. He defends me when He needs to.

George Lockhart is a missionary with Vision 2 Hear and serves as the Creative/Mission Pastor at New Vision Church in Fayetteville, GA