But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” (Luke 10:40)
Martha loved Jesus dearly and would have done anything for Him. Her struggle came in being still! Martha spent so much time serving Jesus that she had no time to enjoy His company or to get to know Him better. The harder Martha worked, the more frustrated she became with her sister Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha scurried around the house to make sure everything was in perfect order for Jesus. Martha’s service, though it started out with gladness, deteriorated into resentment and envy.
It is good to want to serve Christ as an expression of love for what He has done for you. Yet when your activity consumes your time and energies so that you have no time for Him, you have become too busy! You may think, as Martha did, that if you don’t do the work, it won’t get done. That may be true, but Jesus taught that your highest priority must be your relationship with Him. If anything detracts you from that relationship, that activity is not from God. God will not ask you to do something that hinders your relationship with Christ. At times, serving God and carrying out His mission is the best way to know and experience God. At other times, it is more important to sit quietly at His feet and listen to what He is saying.
We are not called to continually sit at the feet of Jesus, otherwise our service for Him would cease. Neither are we called to serve Him incessantly, without taking time to find restoration in His presence.
Have you been serving God so diligently that you have not had time to spend with Him?