Quiet Times

Quiet Time. I will be the first to say I struggle with having one. We all do. What is it that often keeps me from having one? My trust in anything other than Christ. Myself. A discipleship relationship. Church. Friendship. Good Deeds. A significant other. Family. Sleep (waking up at 6am is yucky and sleep sounds a lot better). While all of these things are good, they are not where our trust should lie. When we look to them to be our source, we tend to forget our need for Christ. Then things get out of focus. There have been times within the past several months that I have been tempted to go to all sorts of sources that are inferior to Jesus when seeking energy and motivation for life. My biggest distraction is through serving others. When I busy myself with helping others I end up putting my trust in myself. I forget to take time to be quiet and humbled before God, and serve Him. 

I think of the passage in Luke 10:38-42 where Jesus has been invited to the house of Mary and Martha to visit and eat with them. As Jesus sat, Mary sat as well, and engaged Him in conversation listening and hanging on His every word. In the meantime, Martha is busy making preparations for their House Guest. It’s not long before Martha gets agitated that Mary is not helping, but rather is sitting listening to Jesus. As Martha enlists the Lord’s help in the dispute, Jesus lets her know that it is she (Martha) who is in the wrong, and not Mary. Martha had chosen worry and busyness over resting and listening in the presence of Jesus.

It’s helpful to see that the two women, quite likely, had different personalities. In this passage, we learn that Martha owned the house and not Mary. In John 11, in the healing of Lazarus, Mary is resigned to the death of Lazarus, while Martha wants Jesus to do something. Martha seems to be a competent and busy woman of action. Mary seems more reserved. Thus, it’s easier to understand why each gravitated to the place they did. In this story, Martha’s activity is a liability. In the story of Lazarus, it is her great strength. The important thing to note, for busy and active people, is their need to slow down and pull away to be with Jesus. While this might not be a natural inclination, it is a necessity.

What Martha fundamentally needs is a perspective change. She is “worried about many things.” The dynamic of worry is that it elevates peripheral things to the highest priority, creating a loss of perspective. It is ironic that worry and busyness can prevent us from taking time with the Lord, and yet it is only time away with God that causes a renewal of perspective. That is why Jesus gives the simple prescription “that only one thing is really needed,” and that is to spend time with Him. Worry makes us think that many things are absolute priorities, when really there is only one. It is not incidental that this story is followed by Jesus’ lessons on prayer. These lessons provide the fundamental attitude change needed to keep perspective. One of these lessons is to seek first God’s kingdom and His agenda. Another lesson is to be persistent, not always in actions, but in prayer. This is the primary way we are to be assertive. Jesus also teaches that we are to bring to God all of the things that are of concern to us, and entrust them to His care. As we follow these prescriptions in prayer, all of the other issues and worry begin to take their proper place and priority.


In verse 41, the passage more literally reads, “Mary has chosen the better portion.” The word “portion” is rich with Old Testament background. Take a look at Number 18, especially verses 8-10 and 20-29. Seriously, go read that and then come back here.


Got it? Okay, notice two things:


1. “Portion” in v. 8 is the Lord’s gift to his servants. It’s the term He used to describe His provision for the priests. The next several paragraphs describe how He will provide their food and all that they need to live. Because they had no land and no means to provide for themselves (v. 20) God promises to meet their needs through that “portion.”


2. “Portion” in v. 28 is our gift to the Lord. It is the sacrifice that He calls us to make to Him and what He requires of us.


Now flip to Lamentations 3. Verses 23-24 read, “[His compassions] are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’” From which we see:


3. “Portion” is also used to refer to our Lord Himself. He is the thing that we most need and our ultimate source of life. 


In light of those it’s easy to see Jesus’ simple statement about choosing the better portion is filled with meaning, and ultimately points to Him. He is the gift as well as the giver. On the cross He even became the sacrifice offered to the Father on our behalf. Mary seemed to get this better than most. In fact, every time she shows up in the Bible – literally every time – she is at Jesus’ feet. Check it out. There’s our passage here, John 11:32 concerning Lazarus’ death and resurrection, and John 12:3 where she pours perfume on his feet. This was a woman who loved Jesus. Mary knew that Jesus had something to offer her, and she wanted that portion. She also knew that He wanted something from her. The portion she choose to give Him wasn’t her busyness, but her adoration. And most importantly she knew that Jesus Himself was her portion. He is our food source and she chose to go to Him for life. Jesus is to be our portion. Busyness and worry tend to provide their own food that raise our energy level and propel us, but we are to be energized by the Lord. He is to be the food for our souls. When other things provide that motivational food our souls become sick and undernourished resulting in a loss of perspective.


Psalm 73:26 has continued to come up for me through my times with Him, My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. What Jesus is telling Martha, and us too, is that she’s going to the wrong food source. She needs to taste, instead, of the Lord – the strength of our heart and our portion forever. 


Though a lot of things can distract us and promise to bring us life, only Jesus can really do this. As He is our 
portion, daily time with Him is a necessity. For me, I need to slow down and have a renewed perspective. I want to sit at Jesus' feet like Mary and give Him my adoration. Who's with me?