Prioritizing God’s Presence

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus. 

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

Luke 10v38-42:

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Going Deeper:

Many of us may have come into this time of social distancing and quarantining with the expectation that we would thrive and flourish in our relationship with Jesus. Perhaps we envisioned that this would be the perfect moment, with more space and time on our hands, for us to press into our discipleship to Jesus, seeking his presence and abiding in him. 

This very well could be what we have experienced during Lockdown so far, as the pace of our lives has slowed down, allowing us more time to prioritize God’s presence and our relationship with him. However, it is also highly likely that the vision we once had for this time is starkly different to the everyday reality we now find ourselves in.

Maybe like Martha we have become distracted by the world around us. We could find ourselves busier than ever as we try to cope with the new responsibilities this season brings at work, or with our children and home-schooling, and in countless other ways. Perhaps we are feeling bombarded by all the preparations we need to make.

Just like Martha there are probably many things that we are worried and upset about that could be consuming our attention such as our finances, our health, and our futures to name a few.

We might purposefully be choosing distraction as we try and escape our thoughts, our fears and the uncertainty that the Coronavirus brings, by abiding in a variety of different coping mechanisms such as binge watching tv or spending several hours on social media.

We may feel, just as Martha did, that we have been left alone to cope with our circumstances and situations, with no one to truly help us in our time of need, making us more distracted, discouraged and disillusioned with our lives and our faith than ever before.

And yet we see in this text that Jesus offers us a better alternative.

In Luke 10 v41-42 we see Jesus responding to Martha’s disillusionment with her situation saying: “Martha, Martha… you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Whilst Martha was distracted, Mary instead chose to sit at Jesus feet, to prioritise spending time with him, to listen to him, to speak with him and to enjoy his presence. Jesus’ response to Martha shows us that time in his presence is exactly what we need in the midst of the chaos that we find ourselves in.

Where distraction leads to us feeling discouraged, disillusioned and distant from God, spending time with him leaves us feeling encouraged and connected to him. 

As we spend time in his presence we become more aware of God, who he is and what he has done for us, both on the cross and in many other ways. This brings clarity to whatever situation we may find ourselves in, reminding us that although times may be hard we can trust God because he is with us, present in our lives, and consistently faithful. 

In his presence we find the life, peace, joy and refreshing that we are so desperately looking for. It’s his presence that truly satisfies us. It’s his love that silences our fears and comforts us in our pain. It’s his power that cheers us on helping us to persevere in our faith, and endure life’s hardships. 

Through Jesus we have full access to God’s life giving presence and to a deep and personal relationship with him. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection every obstacle has been removed between us and God, allowing us to be fully present with him. Jesus is God’s constant reminder to us that he is present with us even when we feel like he isn’t, that he is near even when we feel like he is far away.

God invites us into his presence to grow in our relationship with him, to share our lives with him, to bring our worries and fears to him, to ask for his help and to experience abundant life in him, even whist in a desert place. 

Will we take him up on his offer, and prioritize spending time in his presence?

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to your from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you right now?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?