Okay, so lately I've been feeling overwhelmed and underappreciated. Can we say SELFISH!? I'm 6 1/2 months pregnant with baby number 3, going to school (on-line, but it is very time consuming), keeping my house clean, cooking, chasing kids (well how about I say playing with them and picking up after them), dealing with my hideous weight gain, feeling antisocial, and struggling with jealousy (because I feel so insecure) - needless to say I haven't been all that pleasant. I try to be patient, but patience run thin so quickly! I try to be a loving mom, but again patience run thin so quickly. I feel like I am constantly TRYING and most often FAILING. Does anyone else ever feel this way? So today I picked up my Bible for my devotion and the one thing that is always constant is that God meets me where I am every time!!I opened to where I have been reading Luke Chapter 11. But God told me to back up a bit, so I started at Chapter 10 verse 38:
38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. 40But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." 41But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
I have read these verses about Martha and Mary 100 times, but today it just moved my soul. I am not ever going to accomplish anything on my own. EVER! I am not going to please the Lord with all of my DOING, if I am not BEING with Him. My motives have somehow gone from pleasing God to pleasing ME! How easy it is to do. Then at the beginning of Luke chapter 11.. God spoke to me again.
Luke 11 Instruction about Prayer 1It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." 2And He said to them, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 3'Give us each day our daily bread. 4'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" 5Then He said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6for a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7and from inside he answers and says, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.' 8"I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10"For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. 11"Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? 12"Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? 13"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
If I am spending my time and energy pleasing Jesus, He is going to give me the strength to accomplish the things that he has already ordained for me to get done that day. When I am truly seeking and listening to God, He places in me the desires of my heart, the things that I want to get done are not bad, but the attitude I have about it all needs realignment. When I seek Him first and am "doing" things for His glory after "being" with Him, I will be fulfilled. It’s so simple, but I mess it all up so often. Do you ever feel like God put the passages of the Bible together just for you? That's how I felt this morning and it was so refreshing.
