Martha was 'anxious and troubled about many things.’ She wasn’t simply upset because Mary wasn’t helping her feed the funeral crowds; she had turmoil inside of herself (Luke 10:41-42). Her grief over Lazarus’ death and the perceived stress of serving all those who came to honor him only magnified her inner turmoil.
What was happening inside of Martha was manifesting in her behavior. Jesus saw into this and opened up a window to her soul so Martha could begin the healing process. Martha had anxiety and fear over many things, crying out for help in serving their guests was her way of drawing Jesus attention to her. I believe this was Martha’s disguised cry of desperation; it was her way of getting Jesus to give her some type of encouragement and reinforcement.
Jesus took note of her, but He didn’t reinforce her thoughts and concerns, He redirected them to the place she could receive healing. He didn’t drive out demons from her and He didn’t condemn her, He simply said ‘sit at my feet.’ What He was really saying was 'let my words wash over you, Martha, let them bring new life to you and heal your heart. You have much inner turmoil and you are looking to bring resolve by adjusting the world around you, but I want to love you and heal you from the inside.' As often happens when we have inner turmoil, Martha blamed some one else and sought to control the situation around her instead of allowing God to heal the issues inside of her.
One thing is needful – to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear His words. This washing of the water of the word hits the ‘reset’ button on our thinking processes and imbues us with the mind of Christ. This establishes His kingdom within us and replaces the mindsets and resulting turmoil and friction that cause us to take our frustrations out on other people.
Sit at His feet today and hear His teaching. Let go of anxiety, inner turmoil and frustration, become renewed in your mind as you allow His word to wash and recreate you!
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