Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God…

Psalm 46:10

“The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important?”   Luke 10:41

Does your life feel more of a solo headless-chicken dance than slow waltz with The Bridegroom? If so, then having all pressure taken off sounds lovely doesn’t it? I was challenged again, this morning, by this short little account in Luke chapter 10.

Most of us want to be like Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus. But ‘life happens’, doesn’t it? It’s easy to unwittingly slip into those patterns of worry, stress, striving, and or for some, a need to be in control: to sort out this or that problem, and before we know it, we’re running around again, wearing ourselves out, unnecessarily.

Let it All Go!

Mary had chosen to position herself at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him. As Jesus put it, “Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”  Luke 10:42

But poor Martha was distracted. She was “anxious and troubled about many things.”
While Mary had her gaze fixed on Jesus, Martha’s gaze was fixed on her to-do list, on the people filling the house and on her own rising sense of indignation and unfairness.

Jesus hadn’t placed any of that pressure on her, all the stress she was feeling was self-imposed.

Mary’s heart attitude was expressed in her body language, as she humbled herself at Jesus’ feet.

Mary’s  posture said: “I need you, Lord,” rather than “I’ve got this!” Or “I can do this!”

Mary wasn’t being selfish, or insensitive to her sister. She was demonstrating humility and a complete trust in Jesus, rather than her own abilities. The people had filled their house because of Jesus, so surely Jesus had a handle on things? Mary had simply taken any pressure off herself.

I love Psalm 46, and this morning I read it in The Passion Translation. If you get a chance, read the whole psalm, it isn’t very long, but for now, have a look at what the first part of verse 10 says:

“Surrender your anxiety! Be silent and stop your striving and you will see that I am God…” 

Psalm 46:10

 In most translations this is “be still and know that I am God.” ‘Be still,’ literally translated from the original language means, “let go of your grip.”

Are you willing, today, to let go of your grip on all those things that distract you, the pressures, the fears, the worries and anxieties, and see and know in the deepest parts of you, that He is God? He has a firm grip on all those things AND on you. You can just sit, rested, with ears and eyes wide open at Jesus’ feet. Let yourself off the hook – Jesus didn’t pile all that pressure on you. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. (See Matthew 11:28-30 )

Jill 💜