The one thing that is needful...

A friend writes a devotion for our ladies group and it is sent out each Wednesday.  This one really spoke to my heart. It caused me to think about how busy my life has been yet how important it is to spend quiet time before the Lord.   Have you been too busy with the demands of your day to sit at the feet of Jesus?

A Heart to Hear

~~Jennifer Davis

 Yesterday morning, my mind was bombarded with a dozen different thoughts pulling me in as many different directions. I struggled just to pray through the Lord's Prayer, distracted by everything from the state of my carpet to the state of the world. Then the Holy Spirit gently dropped a word into my mind: single-mindedness. I needed single-mindedness, the grace to focus on "the one thing that is needful". I like that word "needful". It means necessary or essential. Isn't it wonderful how the word of God can come to mind long after you've heard it? This phrase "the one thing that is needful" must have bubbled up in the King James from my childhood memory. It is from a conversation Jesus had with Martha when she came to Him to complain about having to do all the work while her sister Mary sat at His feet. Jesus heard her out and then He gently told her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Jesus was telling Martha that the best use of her time at that moment was to sit down with Him. He didn't want her running around trying to anticipate His needs and rushing ahead to meet them. He wanted to meet her needs. He wanted her to be refreshed and restored by listening to His words for her.
There will always be too many things that need to be done. Before we plunge into action, we need to stop and listen to the Voice that speaks with the perspective of eternity. Jesus faced tremendous demands from those around Him, but He took the time to get alone and listen to the voice of His Abba Father. He knew that it was the one thing that is needful. It is often the hardest thing in the world, dragging my eyes off my to-do list and getting quiet before Him, but it is always, always worth it. He alone has the words of life and it is His delight to speak them to a listening heart.

Luke 10:41-42, John 6:68


Lord, please give us a heart to hear you.