Listen to Devotion

Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Twenty percent of the people do eighty percent of the work” is a common expression. Unfortunately, that’s true in many churches. And unfortunately, sometimes those who are doing eighty percent of the work begin to view serving in God’s kingdom as a burden rather than a blessing. They feel like Martha who said to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me! I’m doing it all!”

The best cure for an “I’m doing it all” Martha attitude is listening even more to what Jesus has done for us. We know that we can’t perfectly resist the devil’s temptations. We know that we can’t do anything to rid ourselves of our sin. We know that we can’t escape death.

But Jesus has the solution to all those problems. He is the solution. And he says, “I’m doing it all!” He was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet he resisted temptation every single minute of his life. He had no sin, but he became our sin and put it to death on the cross, going alone as the sacrifice for sin. Jesus experienced real death, but then he escaped the death’s clutches, rising from the dead after three days. Jesus has left no work for us to do ourselves when it comes to our salvation. He has done it all, one hundred percent, by himself for the whole world! With such a comforting message, it’s no wonder Jesus wants us to sit at his feet and listen to his Word.

Wonderful Savior, thank you for doing it all when it comes to winning my salvation. Let my service to you every day be a joy and not a burden. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.