Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 74

Day 74 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Luke 10:38-42 and reflect on Martha, who welcomed the Lord Jesus into her home but became troubled by many things while serving. Through her story, this devotional helps women learn to sit first at the Lord’s feet, receiving His Word, His presence, and His rest before serving others. 

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 74 of our reading journey. 

Many sisters can understand Martha’s heart. There are things to arrange at home, meals to prepare, people to care for, children to watch over, work to finish, and church responsibilities that cannot be ignored. We often love the Lord and stay busy at the same time. We want to do things well, yet our hearts can become anxious, hurt, and weary.

Martha was not a woman who did not love the Lord. On the contrary, she welcomed Jesus into her home and wanted to serve Him. The problem was not that she served, but that her heart became pulled in many directions while serving. She saw Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to His word, but instead of being reminded or drawn near, Martha felt alone, burdened, and troubled.

Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.” This was not a rejection of her service. It was a tender naming of the anxiety in her heart. The Lord did not say her work had no value; He invited her back to the one thing most needful: to hear His word and draw near to Him.

A Minute of Grace

Luke 10:38-42 tells us that Jesus entered a certain village, and a woman named Martha received Him into her house. Her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was “cumbered about much serving,” and she came to Jesus and said, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”

This is a deeply practical passage. Martha is serving, while Mary is listening. Martha is busy, while Mary is sitting. Martha sees, “I am serving alone.” Jesus sees that she is “careful and troubled about many things.” Very often, we are like Martha. It is not that we do not want to serve, but that we become weighed down by responsibility. It is not that we do not love the Lord, but that our love becomes tangled with busyness, comparison, and quiet resentment.

Jesus does not say that service is unimportant. He Himself taught His disciples to serve others, and He later washed their feet. But here, the Lord reminds Martha that service without nearness to Him can easily become anxiety. Responsibility without strength from Him can become pressure. Love squeezed by busyness can slowly turn into complaint.

Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet was not an escape from life. She was choosing “that good part.” She placed herself under the Lord’s word and allowed Him to minister first to her heart. Jesus said this part would not be taken away from her. What truly sustains us for the long journey is not how much we accomplish, but whether we continually return to the Lord and allow His word to reorder our hearts.

Today’s theme, “Martha: Anxiety in Serving,” invites us to reflect: As we carry responsibilities in family, work, church, and daily life, have we lost the quietness of sitting at the Lord’s feet? Has serving become a way to prove ourselves, compare with others, or hide our hurt? The Lord is not asking us to stop loving or serving others. He is inviting us to receive love from Him first, and then serve from a place of rest.

Whispers for the Heart

1 Martha welcomed Jesus, which was a beautiful thing, yet her heart became troubled in the middle of serving. Have you recently felt anxious, hurt, or alone in certain responsibilities, ministries, or family tasks? Could these emotions be reminding you to return first to the Lord for rest?

2 Martha said to Jesus, “dost thou not care?” When we become deeply tired, we may also wonder whether the Lord sees our labor. Have you ever felt this way in service or under life’s pressure? How does Jesus’ tender call, “Martha, Martha,” help you believe that He sees not only your work, but also your heart?

3 Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and heard His word, and Jesus called this “that good part.” In your current pace of life, what is stealing your time and heart from quietly listening to the Lord? Are you willing to reorder your priorities, sit first at His feet, and then rise to serve?

As you read Luke 10:38-42 today, do not see Martha only as “the busy one.” See her as a woman who loved the Lord, welcomed the Lord, and served the Lord, yet needed her heart to be gently adjusted by Him. Her story reminds us that the Lord cares not only about how much we do, but also whether our hearts are resting in Him.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your busyness, pressure, hurt, comparison, and weariness before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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Luke 10:38-42 (KJV) 

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

💡 Closing Thought · Sit First, Then Rise 

After reading Luke 10:38-42, we see that Martha did love the Lord and did want to serve. Her problem was not that her hands were too busy, but that her heart had been pulled away from rest. Jesus gently reminded her that one thing was needful. What sustains long-term service is not a tighter grip on our own strength, but the habit of sitting at the Lord’s feet, hearing His word, and receiving Him.

As we close this page and return to real life, meals may still need to be prepared, work may still need to be finished, children may still need care, and service may still continue. But remember: before you rise, you may first sit. Before you keep giving, you may first receive. Before you care for others, you may first let the Lord care for your heart.

May today’s Scripture remind you that anxiety does not have to be the cost of serving, and busyness should not steal the good part of drawing near to the Lord. May you learn to sit first at His feet, let His Word settle your heart, and then enter today’s responsibilities and service with love, strength, and rest from Him.

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