“‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord replied, ‘you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary’” (Luke 10:40b-42a, BSB).

I have talked about this story before, but I wanted to come at it from a different perspective. We talked about Mary choosing the one thing that mattered. Martha is worried and upset. Anything ever get you worried or upset? What was your response? Our natural, human, sin-nature response is to play God, the sin of the garden. We want to fix things, come up with a plan. Martha thinks she KNOWS the answer to her problem. She doesn’t go to Jesus and ask what should be done. She goes to Him already knowing what needs to be done to solve her problem. She goes to Jesus and tells Him what to do, “Tell Mary to help me!”

Ever go to God in prayer, already decided about the thing that should happen? Ever tell God what to do? Ever command God to carry out your predetermined solution? Jesus corrects her gently. He points out the problem, her fretting, and corrects her understanding of what NEEDS to happen. There was only one thing necessary.

We think we need this or that to happen, or to get this or that, and our problem would be solved. It’s an illusion. We did a lesson on Psalm 37:8, how fretting only causes harm (Lesson 122). Getting what we want is a band-aid solution. It doesn’t change our hearts. The next time a problem arises, we’ll be in the same state, and maybe even strengthened in it that we need the fix we see before we can feel better, because we hadn’t found the better way.

There is only one thing we need in times of trouble, when the temptation is fretting and worry. It’s to sit still at the feet of Jesus. Our strength in those times comes from quiet, trusting confidence in Jesus, who holds all things in His hands. Our joy comes from knowing His power, sovereignty, goodness, and love.