MUDDLED UP!

Luke 10:38-40 NKJV 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…

We recently had our family visit from Australia which was wonderful. We welcomed them in, made them feel at home and listened to all they had to tell us. How would they have felt if we’d welcomed them in and then ignored them? I think you can guess!😊

It’s great to welcome Jesus into our lives, but not so good to then go off and ignore Him to do something we feel is more demanding of our attention! That’s what happened to Martha. She welcomed Jesus into her house but she was more concerned about what she had to do and prepare than in actually sitting and listening to what Jesus had to say. She had her priorities all muddled up!

Colossians 2:2-3 NLT  …I want them to have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is Christ himself. In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Mary made a better choice. She’d realised that Jesus had all the answers and she wanted to know what He had to say! She was willing to be told off by her sister because she recognised what was most important at that moment, and that was to listen to Jesus first. Everything else would have to wait!

So this is a nudge to us all if our priorities have been muddled up lately. Let’s make a decision as we come to the second half of this year to spend more time listening to what God has to say in His Word and in our prayer time, and give the Holy Spirit room to show us the wisdom Jesus has for the days ahead. It’s our call - let’s choose to sit and listen.😊 Amen.

Photo: SixteenMiles Out on Unsplash

ACCEPTING HELP

2 Kings 5:3 NKJV Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master (Naaman) were with the prophet who is in Samaria. For he would heal him of his leprosy.

Now you may be a person who receives help very happily or you may be a bit stubborn and choose to do things all by yourself!😊 Today we read about Naaman who was a highly respected commander of the Syrian army who needed help, but he started off as one of the stubborn ones!

We all need the help of the Holy Spirit but we may also need the help of other people who are God’s instruments. Naaman had to humble himself to receive what he needed and there are times when we need to do the same. 

The trouble is we may not want to admit we need help. We want to ‘cope’ on our own but God never asked us to ‘cope’ with anything. He is the One who upholds, who strengthens and helps us. He never asked us to live the Christian life in our own strength. He has promised to provide everything we need for each day, each moment. 

Naaman was a fiercely independent man who didn’t like to submit to anyone and yet he came to his senses and did as he was told to do by the prophet, and was wonderfully healed.😊

God’s principles work in any situation, not just for healing. Naaman received help from three sources - a foreign serving girl, a prophet of God, and the wisdom of other servants around him who all did their part by encouraging him to do as instructed, even if it humbled him.

God’s ways are not our ways but if we’ll do as He says, in due time we can have what He says we can have, if we’ll just obey the instructions and accept the help we’re offered.😊 Amen.

Photo by Pilar Rubio on Unsplash