This morning, during my daily morning worship, the Lord began to speak to me concerning the heart of a worshiper. He took me, by the Spirit, to Bethany, which was a little village just over the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem, during the time of our Lord Jesus. Here lived three siblings, Lazarus and his two sisters: Martha and Mary. We find this story in the gospels of both Luke and John.
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. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 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. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:38-42
Then Jesus six days before the Passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always. Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. John 12:1-9
Martha had the heart of a servant. She wanted everything to be just right for the great Rabbi and all of his guests. I have often cooked for other people and have found myself becoming anxious because it seems that everything won't get done at the appointed time. You may have one pot cooking on the stove while the meat is on the grill and another dish in the oven. While concerning yourself with one, you remember the other is about to burn and you must stir it and then one completes its cooking time and starts to get cold while the bread is still baking for another 5 minutes. It can become stressful. And in the midst of all this, you want the table to be set nicely, with napkins folded properly and each eating utensil in its proper place. This is what Martha was experiencing when she went to Yeshua (Jesus) and asked Him, "Tell my sister to help me." Yeshua did not rebuke her for serving, but He explained to her that Mary had chosen the higher thing, that of worship.
What I have discovered in life is, one can be serving God with all their heart and still be weighed down with burdens, stress, and anxieties of life. But when one comes into that place of worship, suddenly you are carefree. It doesn't matter what life's circumstances are. There is only one focus.
Earlier in the week, while on my job, I had many tasks to do and very little time to accomplish it. I found myself multitasking and by the end of my day, I was so stressed and anxious! But on Wednesday morning, during my time of prayer and worship, the Spirit of the Lord came and lifted me up. Suddenly, I began singing in the Spirit about having "an undivided heart, that I might fear Your Name." I sang that all morning, and found myself so much lighter than I had been all week. It wasn't that my tasks were less. Rather, my heart was not divided. My only task in the day was to worship the Lord and while I was worshiping Him as my only task, everything else took second place.
Now, I want to comment on the portion from John where Mary took the pound of spikenard and anointed Yeshua's feet. Notice how the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. I imagine that everyone in the house left smelling like spikenard, that day. While singing in the Spirit, this morning, the Holy Spirit showed me Song of Solomon 1:3, "Because of the fragrance of Your pleasant oil, Your Name is as oil poured out, this is why the maidens love You." [Author's Translation] Yeshua was the fulfillment of this verse. While Mary was anointing the feet of the Messiah, she also was being perfumed with the smell. She, of all people, smelled most like Yeshua that day. The smell was on her hands and in her hair. She probably smelled that way for the rest of the week. And when we sit at the feet of the Messiah and worship him, we to begin to smell like Him. Now thanks be to God, which always causes us to be victorious in the Messiah, and makes us manifest the fragrance of His knowledge everywhere we go. For we are a sweet fragrance of Messiah, to them which are saved and to those who perish. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 [Author's Translation]
David prayed, "Let my prayer be set forth before You as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." Psalm 141:2
