Hurricane Harvey recently swept up through Houston, leaving devastation in its path. Displaced people, flooded homes and a wrecked economy. People will be picking up the pieces for years. Beautifully decorated homes, nice cars, and even places of employment were lost in hours. Heirlooms like wedding albums, family pictures, quilts and antiques – gone. Secure employment, no longer there. High winds blew trouble into many lives that day – trouble that will continue to consume their hearts and minds, long after the winds are gone. I heard of one lady, on the radio, who was calling people together in her local area and lifting their voices high and loud, singing praise and trust in her Jesus – the One who would lift them above this horrific storm. Her spiritual eyes were focused and narrowed in on one thing; the only thing she could place her trust in.
Many would say that woman needed to get her head out of the clouds and her hands into cleaning up the mess. Do some real practical good! Sometimes we’re can be so heavenly minded, we’re no earthly good. It’s very true, and I pray that I always evaluate and act accordingly. Truth is, I tend toward the doing, rather than the being (and the praising). The world today is filled with folks seeking to support a cause, because it’s something tangible. They seek to feel good because they’ve done something good.
Martha was also a doer. (Luke 10:41-42) What a woman! Today, she could run a household, lead the PTA and her Etsy business, without breaking a sweat. She would likely also sing in the choir at church and organize donations to the homeless shelter. Again – what a woman!
No one would dare utter a word against a ‘Martha’, except out of jealousy, perhaps, because she does so much good. (And secretly, we feel like…less.)
But Jesus did!
Jesus replied to an upset, frustrated Martha, “You are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.” Her sister, Mary, had chosen the good portion, which Jesus would not take away from her.
Mary’s one thing was Jesus.
Lord, help my One Thing be You. When the winds blow through my life, devastating and distracting, keep my eyes laser-focused my good Portion, my good Reward.
sojourners 