call me martha

posted by sharla, trying to be a mary in a martha world

for those of you who know me, this will come as no shock - I am a doer. my first response to pretty much any problem is to try to do something about it immediately (if not sooner). God has been teaching me that I don't always have to "do" something in order to address a problem. seems He's been teaching me this for a few years, but I'm just now catching on. my first response should be prayer. my first response should be God, not me. God is soveriegn and I'm just running around on the earth like I have control of the things in front of me.

so yes, I'm a Martha. I want to clean the house and make dinner for Jesus, not realizing that I have Jesus in my house and He wants to talk to me. He wants my heart, not my futile attempts at changing the world. He can use me to bring about change, but ultimately, He wants me at His feet, not running around like a headless chicken.

I find myself now in the midst of a situation in which I could immediately begin trying to solve the problem on my own or turn it over to God in prayer and see how He leads. I almost sent that first email (the "doing") and then the Holy Spirit promted me to stop. I need to pray. So I am committed to praying over the weekend and won't take any action until Monday.

are you curious? what is it I'm praying about? Makarios staff needs. We need staff in Austin and in the DR. Some needs I've known about for a while, some are new. When Luke talks about the harvest being plentiful and the laborers being few in chapter 10 of his gospel, his next statement is "therefore, PRAY!" he doesn't say go and make an announcement in church, email everyone you know, start making phone calls because there's a labor shortage. nope. he says "pray."

now that's not to say that we don't ever do anything. but if we've been praying as we move into action, the Spirit guides us and shows us our role in "the doing."

please join us in prayer for these needs.