By Tesia Nagorka

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into their home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are so upset over all these details! There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won’t take it away from her.’ – Luke 10:38-42

We find ourselves in a culture that places high value on business. The pressures to constantly move and do give us the false idea that rest (especially full rest) is lazy. It’s become all about output. But don’t we also find ourselves in a culture where people are emotionally and physically depleted, with soaring statistics of stress and depression?

Sadly, we don’t just find this in the secular world, but also within Christian communities. We’ve bought into the idea of more output equating to better ministry. That the busier we are and the more serving we do, the more in His will we are. But we know that isn’t true. It was Christ that bought us back and restored us back to relationship with God, not ourselves! Christ died for us while we were still sinners and wanted nothing to do with Him! Living as if we’re trying to prove ourselves or gain His favor goes directly against God’s will for our lives.

And isn’t it also tempting to lean on your own strengths the busier we become? The louder your life and the clanging of pots and pans, so to speak, isn’t it harder to hear His voice? Of course, we are to love God and serve each other in love by doing good works – that is part of His instruction – but not to the point where you don’t rest.

In this season of covid-19 and quarantine, we remember the times we ran around stressed and overworked, wanting more time at home to rest, and we laugh – did we ever imagine there could be such a thing as too much rest?! Somehow, we’ve gained the time to rest but we don’t feel restful! We find ourselves craving the going and the doing again. Sure, a lot of that has to do with missing our friends and family – wanting a hug from them. But the reality is, we still have access to them. We are connected now more than ever, with Facetime and Zoom calls along with social media, etc! So what is it? With all this time, why do we not feel restful?

Could it be that we’ve forgotten how to rest?

Rest isn’t just physical, it’s also emotional. Jesus said “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). To rest, we have to trust. And trusting means to let go. When we allow ourselves to be still, rest allows us to relinquish control – to cease striving and to trust. To worship God as God, instead of our own hands or our own minds.

And the beautiful secret in stillness, is that God wants us to simply spend time with Him. It really is that simple – and that beautiful.

In this scripture, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, and simply listening. She wasn’t doing, or serving, or talking, or ministering, or planning, or scheduling, or figuring out. She was sitting with Him, and listening.

I’ll say it again – she even stopped serving Jesus for the chance to sit with Jesus.

And what was His response?

He didn’t chastise her. Instead, He defended her, stating “There is really only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it – and I won’t take it away from her.”

Is serving more important than spending time together? Doing good works is wonderful, but it becomes nothing if we cannot stop to sit with those around us. It becomes nothing if we cannot stop to sit with Jesus – to give Him our attention.

And now, in this crazy season, when we’re taken away from the normal schedules that distract us, the silence and stillness confront what we’ve been leaning on. When everything around us is still, we can see if we’re still on the inside.

Take time to think about this in your own life. Have you been struggling with restlessness? Are you able to trust God in the business but suddenly find it harder to trust Him in the stillness? Give that to Him. Instead of grasping at what to do, let go and sit at His feet. Let Him have control of it all and just trust Him. Draw closer to Him to learn His ways, and listen. It’s here that we find the one true thing – our attention truly captured by Him – and when we find it we can have confidence that it won’t be taken from us. God Himself will keep us.