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BRAVER THAN LIONS
Sam Stringer
Aug 14, 2024
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named
Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus
feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him
and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to
help me."And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled
about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not
be taken away from her."
Luke 10:38-42
Christianity can become a chore if we’re not cautious. We have to be watchful not only of
serving but of doing so for the right reasons. We must remember that this relationship with
Jesus that we’re called into is not just about doing things for Him, but never forgetting to enjoy
Him, too.
My daughter’s birthday was yesterday, and I helped do some cooking and so forth. My wife
asked me while I was making some pasta, “Have you had any fun with your daughter today?” It
was a good and yet piercing question. It’s so easy to secure lives for the people we love and to
forget to enjoy them. When it comes to marriage, it’s so common for us to lose sight of taking
pleasure in our spouses and spending time with them. We’re getting things done, we’re
addressing issues, we’re pressing on and yet we may be forgetting that there was a time when
we just loved being around this person. We loved seeing them walk into the room; we loved the
sound of their voice on the phone; we loved going out together and talking about anything and
everything. Relationships become lukewarm and start to erode when we stop finding value
simply in that person that used to make our hearts skip a beat. If you’re reading this and you’ve
been struggling in your marriage or relationship with someone else close to you, I encourage
you to go back to finding ways to enjoy them, and remember why you ever did in the first place.
Let’s just stop and look at this passage and hear something profound: Martha was distracted
with much serving. Distracted from what? Distracted from who? She was preoccupied with
service itself and she was distracted from Christ. Jesus was in the house and she had her focus
on working. Listen to me: you can go to church and leave Jesus in the other room. You can give
your time, energy, money, even your blood and be distracted from Jesus. Your dedication may
serve to kill your love for Jesus if you let it. We can become so “worried and troubled over many
things,” and instead of quieting ourselves before His calming voice, we double down on banging
around with the pots and pans. You won’t love Him more by giving more if you don’t devote time
to enjoying Him more. Who really takes a shine to brave but callous Christians? There’s plenty
of them out there; so strong, so involved, and yet so distracted.
I’m snapping my proverbial fingers at you here in this devotional. Come to (snap snap). Wake
up (snap snap). Jesus is in the room. Are you distracted? Are you worried and troubled and yet
caught up in so much doing without simply enjoying Him? It’s a recipe for disaster and yet it
often is applauded with so much superficial admiration in our churches. “What a servant! What a
giver!” What a crock.
People may be intimidated by those who give so much to the organization, but what their hearts
crave is someone who is in love with Jesus, who still enjoys Him. Be one of those people. I don’t
care if you’ve been the distracted doer, wake up and be one, because it’s the person molded by
adoration of their Lord that’s going to be not only remembered, but who also inspired countless
people because they wanted to be like that, too. Enjoy Him. Let bravery form only after you
have gone back to remembering the excitement of knowing Him and being loved by Him in the
first place. If He is in your heart, He is in your house. Turn off the stove and go sit by Him. Be
brave. Be blessed.
Sam Stringer
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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