A Daily Devotional by Bishop David Bakare
The Needful
Tuesday,
17 September
But one thing is needful: and Mary
hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:42
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: Luke 10:38-41 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
MORE LESSON: Proverbs 3:5-8 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
As we wake up each day, so many things
compete for our immediate attention. Time seems to fly when we have several
important issues to attend to. To set the order of priority is often difficult
because most times it seems as if heaven will crash if these pressing demands
are not all attended to immediately. Humanly speaking, man was not created to
be in two places at the same time. Therefore, opportunity cost must come in
when deciding the order of priority in getting the day’s assignments done.
Usually, courtesy demands that when a guest
arrives at your house, you go all the way to entertain him, make him feel
welcome and comfortable. The main guest at Mary and Martha’s house was the
Master Himself (Jesus) and His entourage. They were travellers who must have
trekked several miles to arrive at the house. They must have been thirsty,
hungry and in need of water to wash their dusty feet (as it was the custom of
the Jews). Martha hurried to get water for the guests to wash their feet, get
food ready and fresh water and milk to cool their thirst. Surprisingly, Mary
her sister was seated at the feet of Jesus with the other guests to listen to
Him. Martha just could not hide her anger, she therefore called on Jesus to
correct Mary’s behaviour. Jesus however calmed her down in Luke 10:41: Martha,
Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. Jesus the
Omniscient One knew the importance of what Martha was doing, but He classified
what Mary did as more important.
Sitting with Jesus to hear God before
engaging in the activities of the day should come first before any other thing.
This is because, it is from God that we draw the much needed strength and
wisdom to face all other challenges of the day. In verse 40, the word cumbered
as in the King James Version is translated as distracted, overly occupied,
worrying in other versions of the Bible. The activities calling for our
attention, though legit and important may be distractions when it comes to
waiting on God as a priority.
Calm down today and wait on God before
jumping on any assignment and the work which would have taken you long hours to
do will take a moment or just a few hours. Proverbs 3:5-8, admonishes us not to
lean on our own understanding but that in all our ways acknowledge God. Many
times we believe that we are too familiar with our daily chores to need a
helper. That is why severally, we spend needless hours trying to solve a little
challenge that comes up in the course of the day. There is He that made the day
and knows every moment of the day and what problem that may crop up at a
particular moment. Let Him handle it for you before the challenge ensues. Learn
to daily wait on God.
Prayer/Action
* Pray that you will be focused on God's Kingdom.
* Ask God for sensitivity to be active in God's assignment.
* Pray against time wasters.
TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: As the path of the just is as a shining light that shines more and more, so shall be my path today, in the precious name of Jesus.
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