Day 6 | The Better Part

One of the most quietly devastating scenes in the Gospels takes place over a meal. In Luke 10, Jesus arrives in a village and is welcomed into the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Mary sits at His feet and listens to what He is saying. Martha, the Bible tells us, was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made,” and eventually her frustration boils over. She comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Her anger lands in a striking place when you stop to look at it. She has skipped over herself for being frazzled, skipped over the meal that needs preparing, and aimed the whole thing at Mary for sitting still and at Jesus for allowing it. There is something painfully familiar about that for anyone who has lived a busy life. When we are running on empty, the people who seem to have peace become irritating to us, and even the One we are running for can feel like He is taking a side we did not expect Him to take.

Jesus’ response is gentle, but it cuts to the bone: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed, or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Notice what He does not say. He does not tell Martha that the meal does not matter, or that she should put down the work, or that her serving is wrong. He simply tells her that she has been so consumed with the many things that she has missed the one thing, and that the one thing is to be with Him. The work of her hands was good; the trouble was that she had let it become bigger than the One she was serving.

If you are reading this in a season where life feels like it is moving faster than you can catch up to, this is the question Jesus is asking you today. The things on your list are probably important, and that is not the question. The question is whether your busyness has quietly become the thing keeping you from Him, when serving Him was the whole point of the busyness in the first place.

The good news is that He is sitting in the room, hoping you will come and sit with Him. There is no folded-arm impatience in His face, only an open seat at His feet. The presence of God is not something you earn by first getting your life in order; it is offered to you in the middle of the mess, if you will stop long enough to receive it. That is what Mary chose, and that is what Jesus said could never be taken from her.

So how do we choose the better part when the laundry is piling up and the inbox is full? Three small habits make a real difference.

First, anchor your day before the day takes you. The minutes between waking up and reaching for your phone are where God’s voice has the clearest path to your heart, before the noise of the day begins negotiating for your attention. Even five minutes is enough to set the tone of the hours that follow.

Second, name your one thing. Martha was undone by the many things, and we are too. Pick the single non-negotiable you will not let your week steal from you, whether it is one chapter of scripture, one worship song on the way to work, or ten minutes of prayer before bed. Guard it like Mary guarded her seat at His feet.

Third, talk to Him in the gaps. The walks between meetings, the time waiting in line, the drive home, all of it is space He can fill if you invite Him into it. What you need to walk closely with God in a busy season is a willing heart and a few minutes at a time.

Busy seasons are the very ones in which God most wants you to lean in. The same Jesus who told Martha there was only one thing needed is the One sitting with you in your kitchen this week, waiting for you to come and choose the better part.

Reflection Questions

What are the “many things” that have been pulling your attention away from the one thing that matters most?

What does it look like for you, this week, to choose what Mary chose?

Prayer

Father, in the name of Jesus, I confess that I have let the busyness of life pull me away from the stillness of being with You. Forgive me for the moments I have served You without sitting with You, for the days I have done much and missed Your face entirely. Teach me to choose the better part. Help me anchor my mornings in You, to guard a non-negotiable space for Your presence, and to speak to You in the small spaces I have been overlooking. When my heart starts to spin like Martha’s, draw me back to Your feet. Let my work flow out of time spent with You, and never replace it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Devotional Written By: Elikem

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