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Podcast EP 72: One Thing is Necessary

by Marci Ferrell
Christian Living Encouragement Homemaking Hospitality Podcast Titus 2

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When we lose sight of our Savior amid our ordinary tasks, we are missing out on the good portion. #maryandmartha #servanthood @thankfuhomemaker

When we lose sight of our Savior amid our ordinary tasks, we are missing out on the good portion @mferrell 

My husband and I have been reading through Sinclair Ferguson’s devotional, To Seek and To Save: Daily Reflections on the Road to the Cross. One of the past readings was quite convicting because it reflects much of my Martha personality. I desire to get things done, get them done right, and in the process find myself overwhelmed, agitated, and forgetting “one thing” is necessary.

Let me set the scene quickly here:

We are all familiar with the Mary/Martha moment in Luke 10. Mary is sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to his teaching and Martha is busy in the kitchen. She has a lot of people to feed and imagine the pressure with Jesus being one of them.  I tend to get a bit sympathetic towards Martha ;). 

Luke 10:40 tells us:

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.”

And Jesus answers Martha:

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
Luke 10:41-42a

You can read the whole post below or listen to the podcast where I share a bit more content below or subscribe on your favorite app here:

 

Related Articles:

Choosing a Mary Heart in a Martha Season

Learning Contentment

What is the Best Use of Our Time?

 
Can you relate with me here when Sinclair describes what this possible Marci Martha moment might look like?:

“On this occasion, Martha broke big time. Can you see her here? She stands right in front of Jesus (‘when she went up to him,’ v.40). She towers over her sister, who is seated at his feet, listening to him. There she is, body rigid, arms like pokers at her side, fists tightly clenched, voice higher-pitched than usual. Then comes the explosion. It is a double complaint: one about Jesus (‘Lord, do you not care?’) and the other about Mary (‘My sister has left me to serve alone’—was she too uptight even to use her name?). And to make matters worse, she tells the Lord exactly what he ought to do about it (‘Tell her then to help me’)!”

I give Martha credit in this scene because she spoke about what was going on inside her out loud. I tend to keep things inside and let the sinful thinking ruminate in my mind. I’ll go over and over it again and again—justifying my thoughts and actions. When I do this, I’ve just made the situation ten times worse, and I start to let bitterness set in. 
 
I can find myself getting ready for company with a to-do list that keeps growing, and my husband can be sitting and relaxing in another room while I’m working away, so my heart is just agitated with him inside. “Doesn’t he see what needs to be done? Why isn’t he offering to help me?”
 
Now, I need to let you know I am married to a godly, extremely helpful, compassionate man, but his domain isn’t the kitchen. It is my area. I also need to state I don’t tend to hang out in the garage. If I need to use the snowblower because he’s out of town, I’m the one pulling the directions out to try and figure it out. The garage is his domain. It is just how our home functions.
 
My Doug would be up in a moment if I would ask for his help. But instead of asking, I seem to find more pleasure in letting my thoughts explode inside my head. I am in a mess at this moment. Instead of enjoying my preparation for our guests and missing an opportunity to work alongside my husband by just asking, I go about my work with a grumbling, self-righteous attitude. I am not choosing the good portion that Mary did at this moment (Luke 10:42).
 
Let me move back to Martha and the text and how Jesus responds to her:

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
-Luke 10:41-42a
 
Mr. Ferguson responds to this text:

“Notice how Jesus responds. Like a calm spiritual physician, he traces these symptoms in Martha’s reaction back to the root of the problem. But he also responds like a father. There’s a lot of emotional concern in the way he repeats her name: ‘Martha, Martha’ (v 41). And there is something inexpressibly gentle about the way he puts his finger on the source of this painful inflammation. He doesn’t give her a lecture about losing her temper, or even for that matter about not yielding to God’s providence, or about the importance of better organization and delegating responsibilities.”

Mr. Ferguson continues, and I love this reminder:

“no the Lord’s diagnosis is simpler: Martha has been ‘anxious and troubled about many things, but one this is necessary’ (v41-41).”

There are many things we can do when the task list is long. We can simplify it, we can focus on “Doing the Next Thing,” or we can ask for help. All those things are good things to consider when our plates are full, but what Jesus wants to get to is the heart of the issue.
 
We’ve lost focus on Him.
 
We get so busy “supposedly” serving Him through our serving others, and we miss Jesus. When we lose sight of our Savior amid our ordinary tasks, we are missing out on the good portion

Luke 10:42:
but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

When we lose sight of our Savior amid our ordinary tasks, we are missing out on the good portion Click to Tweet

We must not let the distractions of this world ever make us lose focus on the “one thing” that is most important. These distractions can be good things and usually, they are in the care of our homes and families. Tasks we need to attend to. We need Martha’s, and we need Mary’s. The problem with Martha wasn’t the tasks before her, but the attitude as she went about them. Mary and Martha both need to be cultivated in our hearts.

“The condition of a servant well becomes every Christian.  Her fault was that she grew encumbered with much serving so that she forgot him and only remembered the service.”

Charles Spurgeon

As we spend time at the Lord’s feet, listening and learning from Him as Mary did, we will go about our tasks focusing on the “one thing.” When our priorities are in the right order and focused on the goodness of Jesus in the gospel, we will go about our tasks with a right and joyful heart attitude, giving thanks in all things.
 

If serving Christ makes us difficult to live with, then something is terribly wrong with our service! The key is to have the right priorities: Jesus Christ first, then others, then ourselves.
-Warren Wiersbe

 As we love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, the natural outflow will be love for others. Loving others means serving with a joy-filled spirit and not one that is critical and demanding. Take the time to sit at the Lord’s feet and worship and meditate on His Word. 

 

Additional Resources:

To Seek and to Save: Daily Reflections on the Road to the Cross by Sinclair Ferguson

Thankful Homemaker Facebook Group

Ligonier Connect Contentment Thankful Homemaker Group Study

Ligonier Connect Free Group Study Info

Podcast EP 71: Prepare and Not Panic

Grab a free PDF to help you in keeping track of your family's favorite meals. These are the meals your family loves to eat, and the ones you love to cook. @mferrell

Related posts:

  1. Marys and Marthas: Celebrating Women of Different Character
  2. Quiet Moments at the Feet of Jesus
  3. EP 50: 10 Lessons from the Life of Mary
  4. Podcast Ep 49: The Benefits of Abiding in Christ


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Comments

  1. Lynn Schumacher says

    at

    Good podcast!

    • Marci Ferrell says

      at

      Thank you Lynn

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Marci Ferrell
Patience is our ability, under the control of the Patience is our ability, under the control of the Spirit, to persevere and endure in times of suffering or hardship.⁣⁣
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Come listen in (or read) EP 118: Cultivating Patience with One Another at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣ shows us our em By affliction, Christ . . .⁣⁣
 shows us our emptiness and weakness,⁣⁣
 draws us to the throne of grace,⁣⁣
 purifies our affections,⁣⁣
 weans us from the world,⁣⁣
 and makes us long for Heaven.⁣⁣
~ J.C. Ryle⁣
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Read more of Trusting God in Your Trials at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wi I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wives, and mothers.  How many times do we focus on our needs that aren’t met?  Unfair situations or circumstances?  Self-pity is a selfish tendency that takes our eyes off Christ and puts them on ourselves. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
We forget that “God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Are we able to give God “thanks in all things”?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Come listen in to EP 105: Practical Steps to Overcome Self Pity at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)⁣
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#rootedinChrist #rootedintheword #christian #christianity #thankfulhomemaker #bedeeplyrooted  #christianblogger  #christians #treasurechrist #joyinchrist #inchristalone #deeplyrooted #martynlloydjones #selfpity
Grab a free copy of my weekly planner 🥰⁣ ⁣ Grab a free copy of my weekly planner 🥰⁣
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Weekly Menu Planning Free PDF is at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest "God's written Word, the Bible, is God's greatest earthly gift to his people, second only to the living Word, Jesus. And because the living Word perfectly lived out the written Word, we are blessed beyond measure. Jesus fulfilled every precept found in Psalm 119, keeping the principles and commandments of this psalm, and he did so on our behalf.⁣
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Our failure to live wholeheartedly is covered by Jesus, who lived it perfectly for us. Ultimately, he is Psalm 119 in human form, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14)."⁣
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~ Taken from Sing a New Song: A Woman's Guide to the Psalms by Lydia Brownback⁣
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With my whole heart I seek you;⁣
let me not wander from your commandments!⁣
I have stored up your word in my heart,⁣
that I might not sin against you.⁣
~ Psalm 119:10-11
Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, an Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, and effort. But remember that opportunities for doing good are not interruptions in God’s plan for us, but part of that plan. We always have time to do what God wants us to do.⁣
~ Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness⁣
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Listen in to 10 Things Helping Me to Manage My Days as a Homemaker at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and s I’m sharing a walkthrough of various tools and systems that help me to get things done. It’s a practical episode, and I hope to encourage you, if nothing else, to take a look at how your days are going and ask yourself some simple questions like:⁣
⁣
What is working and what is not working?⁣
Where do I find myself wasting time?⁣
Where can I make better use of my time?⁣
Can I simplify my days or various tasks or automate them?⁣
⁣
These are just a few questions to ponder, and there are many more you can ask, but the main one is to seek the Lord and ask him, are you a good steward of your time? Is your desire to honor Him amid your days and in how you spend your time?⁣
⁣
Many more than ten systems or tools help me manage my days, but these items top my list. I’ve shared more in detail on some of these in past blog posts or podcast episodes, but I wanted to put together an episode that walked through how I use each one.⁣
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An episode like this one is more helpful to me than you because it helps me to think through my days and systems and tools and determine what is working for me and what isn’t.⁣
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Listen to 10 Things Helping Me Manage My Days as a Homemaker at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
Who doesn’t want to save money, time, their sani Who doesn’t want to save money, time, their sanity, reduce stress, eat healthy and avoid the dreaded question, “What’s for dinner?” It sounds great, right, and we’d all love to do it, but how do we get there?⁣
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Menu planning is the answer to all those questions above. We have a jam-packed episode today filled with tons of tips, examples, and ideas, so stick with me, and I know there will be something that will appeal to each of you in some way.⁣
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Listen in at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly Though gradually, though no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable. And then acceptable. And then legal. And then applaudable.⁣
~ Joni Eareckson Tada⁣
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Come listen to EP 70: Finding Forgiveness After an Abortion at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image)
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