Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.
Hebrews 4:9-10 There remaineth therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.
One of my heroes of the faith, Watchman Nee, once said something profound about entering the rest of God. He said, “Carnal Christians crave works; yet amid many labors, they are unable to maintain calm in their spirit. They cannot fulfill God’s orders quietly as can the spiritual believers… their hearts are governed by outward matters. Being “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40) is the characteristic of the work of any soulish believer. They have not yet entered the rest of God.”
Now that Martha is in Heaven (for some 2000 years) I have often wondered how she feels about being an example of distraction and carnality, and to what extent it’s possible to move away from that kind of activity into a place of rest and peace and relationship as we serve the Lord.
The Sabbath is certainly an opportunity to discover and practice the kind of rest and abiding in Yeshua that Watchman recommends here. All of us have experienced “spiritual” activity which is distracted, performance based, and undoubtedly less fruitful and effectual than it could be. But must it always be so? The Lord would not have rebuked Martha if He didn’t hope and expect her to learn from His admonition.
There’s no question that we can learn a more mature way of serving. Mary has shown us the way, and Shabbat is the perfect opportunity to learn it. Sit at His feet, quietly, attentively, and learn of Him. Entering deeply into His rest will change the way you work, all the following week. And by resting well, we improve the quality of our work and even multiply our time. We give, He adds. We divide, He multiplies. We rest, and because of our abiding, He works. Shabbat Shalom!
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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The first man was called “Ah-dom”, we know him as “Adam”. The word used for “man”, as in “mankind”, in Genesis 1, is also the same word – “Ah-dom”. “Ah-dom” is rooted in the three Hebrew letters, aleph-dalet-mem, and one of the Hebrew words for earth is “Adamah”, which contains the same three letters, however it ends with the Hebrew letter “hay”. “Adamah” means “red earth”, or “red clay”, and this word points to the natural earth elements, the “earth dust” that composed Adam’s body, and the body of every human being since. “Man” is “ah-dom”, in a very real sense, “clay”.
There are two kinds of birds that roam the desert: vultures and hummingbirds. The vulture thrives on a diet of rotting meat. He flies overhead searching for traces of leftover carcasses from slow-footed critters eaten by wild animals who’ve already had their fill.
In Biblical Hebrew, the verb tenses are not like our “past”, “present”, and “future” – there are only two: “perfect” and “imperfect”. The “imperfect” tense is that which is not yet, not done, or not completed. The “perfect” is that which is done, complete and finished.
In 2nd Samuel Chapter 9 we read of the story of King David and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan and the grandson of the first king of Israel, King Saul. After Jonathan’s death, David went forth to show kindness to Saul’s house. Mephibosheth had become lame at the young age of five — he had lived his entire life as a cripple.
Let’s consider Daniel for a moment. Here is one of the great rulers of the Persian empire, in charge of the King’s affairs and of the affairs of the entire government. If anyone is really busy — it’s Daniel! But in spite of all this responsibility, he makes it a point to set himself apart from the world and pray three times a day.
The burglar froze in place, allowing the woman to call the police and report the burglary calmly. When the police arrived and detained the man, the officer curiously asked him, “Why did you stop when she cited scripture?” The burglar, still shaken, replied, “Scripture? I thought she said she had an ax and two .38s!”
We’ve been serving in full-time ministry for over 25 years now, and throughout that journey, we’ve certainly experienced our share of trials and tribulations. Sometimes in life, we ask, “Lord, will this ever end?” And if you haven’t noticed, the challenges often don’t stop. But here’s the encouraging part: with every faith-testing moment, our spiritual endurance grows, our character is refined, and our trust in God deepens.