Martha, Martha

Luke 10:40   "But 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. But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;"

Shall I call myself Martha?  This is the question I ask myself often as I follow Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  I often pray and ask the Lord for the things of myself, my flesh, my own fleshly desire, which I often confuse with the Lord's voice.  I am so distracted, plain and simple, DISTRACTED!!!  I dwell on so many things that are preparations.  By preparations I mean those things that I can think of to draw me closer to the Lord, but often forget to allow the Lord to teach me and draw me closer to Him through His perfect Spirit. What are these distractions?  In my life it is often the things that seem good in nature.  First would be, how to better equip the saints in the gathering of the Body of Christ.  I absolutely love the people of the Lord that He has brought around us to minister to us and for us to minister to, but often I(note the I) work and attempt to prepare things instead of going to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and allowing Him to show me exactly what He wants.  Next, would be my job.  I am praying and hoping that the Lord will grant me favor in going at least part time in ministering and challenging those that I am involved with in life and others that He may allow me to build relationships with. So, with this goal I often attempt to find a better job which pays more, but allows more time off, instead of being content with the awesome job that He has given which allows major free time. Finally, my own pursuit of God.  Pursuing God is our job and life, but often I am pharisaical and use legalism or other forms of structure to attempt to grow nearer to the Lord.  The funny thing is I know this is absolutely not the way to pursue Jesus Christ who is more in love with me than I can imagine.  The times I am fasting from everything are the times I'm closest to Him, but often I try to fill my life with things that seem good. "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." I am choosing to follow the "good part" which is Jesus Christ who WILL NOT BE TAKEN FROM ME, for He is faithful and trustworthy of my life and salvation!!!  So, as I pray and supplicate I will walk in "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension"(Phil 4:7)