I said no to all the to do lists on Sunday to make time for God, rest, and my family. The sink was full of dishes, laundry piled so high I couldn't to my bed, lunches weren't packed, deadlines were ringing on my alarm, text messages were buzzing.. The dog was barking, my tooth was throbbing and all I wanted to do was look around and see a clean house, get in a hot bath and go to bed. Anxiety started to kick in and I somehow thought by opening my calendar that my brain would feel less overwhelmed. I looked at my week ahead only to find myself more stressed.
As I start to question my day that old tape starts playing. “See Clare, this is why you don’t have TIME TO REST, you know that narrative that spreads nasty lies through your mind “Why didn’t you do enough” “how are you still behind?” “Your house is a mess”” Your lazy for resting” I interrupted the noise by going to God in prayer.
“God, you told me to honor you on the sabbath and create rest. You also highlighted to me the word boundary and limit, so I don’t crash and burn. As I look back on my day and week, I obeyed what you’ve ASKED. I said no to many things I was originally going to do and instead I rested in your presence, read your word, prayed, and worshipped. I went to bible study, I fasted, I went to church, I prayed… Why does it feel like I’m still behind? I can’t live in this mess”
“You chose the better things”
Suddenly “you chose the better things” dropped in my spirit. Immediately I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha. If you’re not familiar go read it in Luke 10:38-42. Martha is doing many things and Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet. I’m paraphrasing the story but essentially Jesus tells Martha she’s worried
about the wrong things and that Mary would be blessed for spending time with him.
He then showed me that I wasn’t even looking at the blessings that I DID receive. Ouch. it’s been so ingrained in me to go, do, and accomplish that even after I did the better things (make room for Jesus and rest) I wasn’t focusing on the reward. I was still stuck on what I DIDN’T DO (tasks of dishes and my cluster of a closet that was all over my bed, food prep etc..)
I was then reminded that the hour I spent in the shower with my face on the floor praying instead of doing my closet was SO MUCH MORE IMPORTANT. It was time for a few more messy mindsets (that had been engraved in my core since I was 5 years old to erupt.)
It was TIME for Jesus to touch my heart and fill me with greater revelations of his LOVE.
Jesus had to reveal and heal parts of my stinking thinking. I then took note of the family TIME that needed to happen. It was a TIME for us to teach and train our children in the ways of the Lord using real- life examples of ways Satan was trying to get in our home through things that are not of God. It was a TIME to pray over our home and do a spiritual deep cleansing. It was a time to repent and renounce agreements that were unknowingly made. It was a time to anoint our children and home with oil and pray for them specifically. It was a TIME to eat, rest and play with our children.
I would tend to say that I’m not an uncommon woman. I believe that many of you reading this have Martha tendencies too. Many of you are task- oriented as well. You love to get things done, cross your lists off and live in a neat, orderly home. Now don’t get me wrong God requires us to be busy in our homes and cultivate a healthy home. BUT there is a TIME for everything.
We must learn as women to be sensitive to The Spirit of God and when he is saying it’s TIME to lay down the less important things to get into his presence.
We don’t want to be woman that miss what God has for us because we didn’t surrender our TIME to him. God doesn’t need us to spend time with him. He loves it and he yearns for it but it’s ALWAYS FOR US. We leave his presence set free, delivered, healed, and empowered to fulfill the plans he has for our lives.
He can’t produce the gold he wants in you if you never sit with the refiner.
His goal is to make you more like Jesus and he can only do that if you invest TIME and yield your heart. Wherever you find yourself today, I encourage you today to make the TIME for Jesus. Honor the sabbath and create pockets of rest in your days so you can focus on the “better thing” JESUS. Join that bible study, join my Monday night prayer meeting, or create a prayer time in your day. Whatever he is nudging you to do…DO IT! He will work the rest out. I promise it will be worth it! "He makes everything Beautiful in its TIME." Ecclesiastes 3: 11