I Miss My Time With You.

I’ve always loved music, but since God gave me the radio ministry, Christian music has touched me like never before. These days, it’s not uncommon for God to speak to me through the words of a song, just as he speaks through the scriptures. I often wake up with a tune on my heart, and I know it’s a word from Jesus for the day ahead.

So I wasn’t surprised when it seemed like I kept hearing the same song over and over again, and I began to wonder if god was allowing that to happen so I’d sit up and take notice of the words. It was called ‘I Miss my time with you’.

It talks about one on one quiet time with God. If we didn’t know it was a Christian song, we might think it was a love song, perhaps to be sung by a wife to her over-busy husband, telling him they need to spend more time together, and that maybe he needs to change his priorities. How many times do we hear that the secret to a good and lasting relationship is quality time spent together – time to chat, and share our thoughts, ideas, and even fears and concerns? If that’s true of human relationships, then how much more is it true of our relationship with the Lord?

I’m often prone to having what I call a Martha mentality. Many of you will know what I mean when I say that, but in case you aren’t familiar with the Biblical account of Martha and Mary, let’s review it together. These ladies were 2 sisters, who were expecting a visit from Jesus. Just stop for a moment and imagine that. Jesus was actually coming to their house for a meal! The Bible seems to imply he knew them and their brother Lazarus quite well, and we can therefore assume he’d visited their home before, but we read about one particular visit in Luke 10, starting at verse 38.

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But 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!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus – to spend time with him, rather than doing for him, unlike her bustling sister. Now perhaps you can all understand what I mean when I say I have a Martha spirit. If there’s a job to be done, I often can’t rest until it’s finished. If I do try and rest, the job that needs doing is still on my mind, and chances are, I’ll either sit there stewing over it, or worrying that if I relax for too long, I won’t get it done.

Sometimes, I actually don’t get things done, because I work myself up into such a state thinking about doing them. I find myself writing to do lists, and then stressing when I don’t tick things off fast enough. I get up in the mornings, and instead of starting my day quietly with the Lord, my mind is immediately running down the mental list of things needing to be done. I tell myself I really should pray first, but when I sit down to pray, my mind starts wandering, so it’s easier to get on with what needs doing, and resolve to pray later. Predictably, when later comes, I’m tired, and I give the Lord the dregs of my day instead of the best part.

Admittedly, the things that distract and keep us away from our quiet times with Jesus can often be good and even godly things. We can be busy in the service of our Saviour, but if we don’t take time to replenish our souls and spirits, we will soon find ourselves trying to serve out of an empty cup. What the Lord is trying to teach me is that if I’m not careful, the busiest times of my life can be the very times when my spirit is the most empty.

I think that’s what happened to Martha. Her schedule was full, but her spirit was running on empty. Yes, it was her home, so ultimately, she had the most responsibility in making sure that everything was ready for Jesus, but in making her home ready, and in seeking to please him, she ended up distancing herself. Jesus wanted Martha. He wanted her time, and her attention, and her love, not her constant service.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying the Lord doesn’t want our works of service. Of course he does, and we all have gifts and talents we can use in building his kingdom, encouraging the believers, reaching out to non-believers and so on. I’m not discrediting these things, but if they’re taking over from our one on one time with Jesus, then something has to give. Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. It’s a one on one, personal relationship with a real live person, but yet we sometimes act as though it’s a daily slog with endless things we have to do, and then all our non-Christian friends and family see is that we’re worn out with endless service. Jesus loves our serving, but more than that, he loves us.

I’ve read much about the need for prayer, and spending time with the Lord. I’ve heard a lot about how lack of prayer can lead to us losing our joy and peace, but God has also shown me that a lack of prayerfulness causes us to lose perspective, because if we don’t spend quality one on one quiet time with Jesus, we can become jaded. I feel that’s what happened to Martha. She was so busy that she lost the joy of serving, became angry with her sister, and lost her perspective on why she was working. All that was left was grumbling, complaining, and bitterness toward Mary who wasn’t helping her. Often times, we see Christians who, on the surface, seem to be doing so much for Jesus, but when we look deep inside, we find that they are unhappy, and there is no joy in the serving.

I believe the author of Psalm 73 had a lot in common with Martha, because he too had lost perspective and with it, the joy of serving the Lord. Whereas Martha was frustrated over Mary’s laziness while she was overworked, the psalmist complains about those who don’t follow the Lord seeming to get away with all sorts, yet outwardly living happy and prosperous lives. I think we can all fall into this trap, as we look at the lives of our non-believing neighbours and friends, and think they have it easy. They seem to go on perfectly well without Jesus, where as we have daily battles and struggles, some of which come because of our faith. We can fall into the it’s not fair trap, like the psalmist did. “But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.” (Psalm 73: 2-5)

I think we have all related to these words at some time during our lives. In verse 13, the Psalmist says: “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.” We see how easily these feelings can creep in, just as they did for Martha when she felt she was being over-worked and under-noticed.

So what is the answer? I believe it’s the same for the psalmist as it was for Martha, and is it is for you and me. The way to gain perspective, and to stop feeling jaded is to spend quality one on one time with the Lord. It really is as simple as that. If we don’t, our acts of service become things we do through gritted teeth, instead of acts of love done with a joyful heart. Psalm 73 verse 16 says: “When I tried to understand all this it troubled me deeply, till I entered the sanctuary of God.”

During his time in God’s presence, the Psalmist learns that although the wicked seem to be prospering here on earth, they’re actually on a slippery slope headed for destruction. All they have here is all they ever will have, unless they give their lives to the Lord. In contrast, he says of himself: “You hold me with your right hand. You guide me with your council, and afterward you will take me into glory.” (Psalm 173 23B-24.) He concludes with the words: “but as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the sovereign Lord my refuge. I will tell of all your deeds.” (Psalm 173: 28)

The Psalmist now has renewed energy to serve, because he’s regained his perspective, having spent time with God in the sanctuary. If Martha had taken the time to sit down with Jesus, and I hope she did, she would have learned all the wonderful things he had to teach her, and I’m sure she would’ve regained her perspective too. And so will we. So, let’s not neglect taking the time to sit in his presence, no matter how many other demands we have on us. We can be assured time spent with Jesus will always be time well spent.