Dearest Sister~
It
truly is a joy to me to share with other sisters in the LORD the good
things He has done and is doing in our midst. Though we cannot always
see or understand the workings of the LORD, He is, indeed, at work and
all God’s ways are good. We can count on Him for that.
Consider
being at the threshold of a brand new year, a clean slate, and
unblemished path lies ahead. By the time a week or two passes, however,
you may have already crossed off a number of “New Year’s Resolutions”
and you may have “slipped” a bit in your resolve to stay away from
treats and snacks, you may not have gotten to the exercises you intended
to do and you may already be behind eight or twelve chapters in your
“Read-through-the-Bible-in-a-Year” program. You may have spoken harshly
to the children and you may have already stayed up too late to rise
early in the morning.
So,
all in all, you might resolve that you’re off to a very good start.
Really. You know… really, it’s a very good thing for us to acknowledge…
to take a look at our frailties and failings and stand right in front
of our mirrors and see our sorry states of affairs. It’s a very good
thing to stand right there with our amended and scratched out list of
“meant to do’s” and see that we truly “cannot do this.” I think you
know what I’m talking about. I say it to my husband from time to time
and I say it to the LORD, too: “I cannot do this!” And then you know
what? It’s as if the LORD is just standing right there with His
comforting outstretched arms saying: Come here, I have been waiting to
help you… I have been waiting to carry you through this. Come here… lay
your burdens down and come to Me.
Well,
then, that’s what I must do. And that’s what you must do, too. We
need to just set that paper down and put down the pen filled with the
ink of good intentions and just get on our knees and wait on the LORD.
And so that’s what I am suggesting be your thought and your best hope
for the year ahead: God being your Helper, that you will just do one
thing—for only one thing is needed and that is to sit at the Feet of
Jesus and hear His Word.
Remember
Martha, all caught up in the well doing, the busyness of the day — the
murmuring and the fretting over what needed to be done? Remember how
the LORD addressed her and her situation? What did He tell her? At
first blush, it might seem as though He didn’t show consideration for
all she was doing or attempting to do and it hardly seemed as though He
valued her effort. But you know, the more I read and mull over what He
said to her, how He addressed her and how He advised her, I see that He
gave her the most loving and helpful words He could’ve offered— sort of
an invitation and direction at once.
(From
Luke 10. 40-42) There she was working [murmuring], cumbered about with
much [murmuring] serving, and came to him [murmuring], and said
[murmuring], “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to
serve [and murmur] alone? bid her therefore that she help me [murmur,
murmur]. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou
art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from
her.”
You
see, He did see and understand her plight, her hard work and her
feelings about it all. He did address the very things that were
troubling her — though it may not seem so at first glance. He
acknowledged her work (O, yes, and her troubles), but He also showed her
that what she was doing was *troubling* her and was not done in restful adoration or in service to Him. Yes, Mary’s actions were in adoration and service — it’s just that when someone is sitting at the feet of Jesus it might seem
to others to be a waste of time and yet, if done in sincerity and in
truth, that very sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing His Word is of
the greatest importance and tremendous value. The benefit of that time
spent sitting at the feet of Jesus hearing His Word, will be reflected
in the time of serving — that waiting on the LORD, hearing His word will
be reflected in every step of the way. Instead of being troubled and
careful about many things, you will have chosen that good part—
remember? …that part that Jesus says cannot be taken away.
So,
where is the sitting at the feet of Jesus, hearing His Word? It’s your
quiet time with Him every morning — it’s that most important time of
your day: time in the Word of God. And so, I offer this bit of
encouragement to you as we begin the New Year together. Take that
tablet and that pen filled with the ink of good intentions and just set
them aside. In my best New York accent: forget about it. But this one
thing… please consider this one thing and don’t let anything dissuade
you from implementing this one thing, for this one thing is needful:
establish or reestablish a daily quiet time with the LORD. Change your
schedule, or change your habits or change your discipline… but don’t
allow yourself to be too busy, too late or too tired to daily sit at the
feet of Jesus, hearing His Word. For in doing so, you will have chosen
the good part, that shall not be taken away from you.
You
may have many things on your heart and mind; many trials, troubles and
regrets. You may be weary in the battle and the task may seem too
arduous for you to carry on. The temptations may seem too great to
resist and the tension too intense to bear any longer. You may be a
mother of many young children and believe that you have no time to read
and no time to pray. It may be that you feel at the end of your rope.
In all these things that loom dark on the horizon I know Jesus will
already be there to bear the load and the burden you cannot carry.
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Maybe you already know this full
well and are joyfully looking forward to the sunrise as you meet with
the LORD. Whatever the case, when you meet Him in the morning He’ll
already be there and will linger long after you’re gone. He will fill
you, refresh you, equip you, strengthen and guide you. And you will
then see there is nowhere you can go that the LORD will not already be
waiting… waiting to demonstrate Himself strong on your behalf.
Blessings to you as we journey through the door and onto the path of this new year.
with love, your sister in Christ, — Pamela
with love, your sister in Christ, — Pamela
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