Learning to trust Jesus is one of the hardest things to do in the Christian life. We often think that we need to be perfect, not because God expects it, but because we think our fellow Christians do. It often leads us to a place where we aren’t totally trusting in Jesus, where we substitute our will for His, or try to shoulder the problems of our world all on our own, when God tells us to lay our burdens on Him.
One of the best examples of total trust in Jesus can be found in Mary, sister of Lazarus. She put all her trust in Him. She would listen to His voice, cry before Him, and even sacrificed her dignity and glory to anoint Him.
Mary’s trust was grounded in listening to Jesus’ words. It was no accident that Mary experienced Jesus’ teachings.
Luke 10:39 (ESV)
“And she had a sister Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teachings.”
Whenever Jesus would stop at Lazarus’ home, Mary would take the time to sit at His feet and be taught alongside His disciples. No matter how busy the household was Mary would always find the time to spend with Him. How many of us are caught up in our day-to-day lives and don’t take the time that we need to listen.
Jesus said “Mary has chosen the good portion…” (v.42), it is getting harder and harder in this world for us to maintain the “good portion” in our lives. Our lives, myself not excluded, often resemble that of Lazarus’ other sister, Martha. We run around, we have important things we need to get done, but by not taking the time to listen we are settling for “good”, when God wants us to have “great”.
You know why so many Christian’s struggle in difficult times? Because we haven’t taken the time during the easier seasons of our life to listen to Jesus’ voice. And when the difficult seasons come, we don’t remember the sound of His voice. We don’t know the voice of the Lord, and the peace and hope that it brings, alludes us.
Mary took the time to listen. As she did, she learned what really mattered, and that in Jesus she was secure. When we do the same, we learn the same things. Sure there will be things in our lives we will have to sacrifice, goals we may not accomplish, but the peace, the hope, and the eternal blessing we receive by intentionally listening to Jesus’ voice far outweigh anything we lose in our short stay on this earth.
So few of us are really listening, especially to the Lord. If we want to develop trust in God, listening is required.
*This is part 1 of Trust Jesus, a 3 part series. Look for Trust Jesus: Troubles at the Feet tomorrow.
Resonant Love 