"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, 'Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.'
But the Lord said to her, 'My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.'"
--Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
We all have moments where we overthink things, don't we?
I know I do.
When I read about what happened at Martha's home with Jesus and her sister, I can't help but think about what lead up to Martha approaching Jesus with her issue. Though the text does not reveal Martha's inner dialogue before she speaks to Jesus, we do know she was eventually so upset with Mary that she chose to interrupt His lesson.
Can you even imagine? Interrupting Jesus Christ?
Well...maybe we can imagine it. Just picture yourself in Martha's shoes. She's invited Jesus into her home, but being that she immediately starts putting together a meal, reveals that she probably hadn't planned on this event happening when she woke up that morning. Most likely she was anticipating a day like any other.
So Jesus comes into her home and Martha starts whipping together a meal....maybe even with a rushed and frenzied state of mind. Perhaps you've experienced something like this at least once in your life? It's like the friend or family member that calls you one day and says, "Hey, we're in the neighborhood and thought we might stop by for a visit." You're still in your pajamas and the house is a wreck, but you excitedly say, "Oh good, come on over!" You hang up the phone and immediately start fluffing and cleaning your house at the speed of light. The song, "The Flight of the Bumblebee" is the soundtrack in your head as you do everything you can to prepare for your guest's arrival in record time.
For Martha, her guest was already there and she was doing everything she could to make Him feel welcome and to fill his belly...meanwhile...her sister Mary was just sitting there...not doing anything.
Brother's and sisters, can you imagine it?
Can you imagine how as Martha cooked and prepared, in her mind she was anguishing over and over again, the fact that Mary was not helping her. That her sister was making her look like a bad host or maybe even that she was missing out on a special time with Jesus because she was stuck in the kitchen. She could have been thinking about many different scenarios and most likely was, because at some point the pressure of her overthinking was too much and she interrupted Jesus's lesson. Not only that, in her emotionally charged state, she COMMANDED that Jesus tell her sister to come and help her.
I can't be sure, but I don't think Martha would have done that had she not been overthinking. I think her actions showed that she had let her own voice drown out the very Words of God being directly spoken by Jesus in her home...and I think it's in this place that she might have learned a great lesson. A lesson that we all should take to heart.
That lesson is this. When all I hear is my own voice repeating my own problems, worries, fears, and "what ifs", over and over...I have little space to hear God's voice and the encouragement and direction He has for me. The moment we as children of God start overthinking, is the same moment we start blocking God's voice and guidance into the things He has prepared for us.
You see, Martha reached a fearful place that compelled her to take unnecessary action. An action that revealed her unhealthy desire to have control and to WILL it even over the Son of God. All she could hear was her own compulsive voice and we all are capable of the same.
The apostle Paul compels us, "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."
--Philippians 4:6-7 (MSG)
The worst way to solve a problem is to meticulously think through every little detail of it in a obsessive-compulsive way. This process only leads to negative things. Studies show that overthinking can lead to depression, anxiety, and an inability to move forward. It can wreck our emotional health and drive us to not trust others and to even think the worst of them.
As believers, we find ourselves lost in the pit of overthinking, because we stop trusting that God and His will for our life is big enough to conqueror any situation. But the truth is, stressing over situations we can't control, only stops us from doing what we can. Paul says that by shaping our worries into prayer, we invite God to bring us HIS wholeness. So THERE IS something we can do besides overthink...and that's pray.
So brothers and sisters, do it now. Pray. Don't even think about it. Just pray.
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