home alone?
"Lord, don't you care that my sister left me all alone to serve?" —Luke 10:40, our transl.
Martha was serving alone. Many Christians also feel quite alone in their service to the Lord and His people. Martha complained to Jesus that He should get Mary to help her (Lk 10:40). We also pray to Jesus that He will get someone to help us. Many times, Jesus doesn't send anyone to help. This gives us the impression that Jesus doesn't care. In fact, Jesus may not be concerned at that particular time about others helping us to continue our work. Rather, His care is that we temporarily stop our work to listen to Him (Lk 10:39). When we are alone in service, we should give up our expectation of others helping us. Rather, we should meet Jesus' expectation that we stop and listen to Him. When we're all alone, we shouldn't just do something; we should sit there.
Jesus cares about our serving alone. He cares so much that He wants to be with us and speak to us. After being "alone" with Jesus, we have the wisdom and strength to serve alone, or we will see the Lord raise up others to help us. First and foremost, Jesus cares about our listening to Him. Do you care to listen to Him and to spend time with Him alone?
Prayer: Father, may I not run from loneliness but run to You.
Promise: "When I found Your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart." —Jer 15:16
Praise: "Martha said to Jesus, '...I am sure that God will give You whatever You ask of Him' " (Jn 11:22).
Reference: (For related teaching, order our leaflet, Hearing God.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, November 29, 1997
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 2, 1997