“You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
— Psalm 16:11
There is something about Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus that keeps drawing me back.
Martha was busy. Serving. Preparing. Doing good things.
But Mary recognised something Martha almost missed:
Jesus was in the room.
And when Jesus is in the room, nothing is more important than being with Him.
Mary wasn’t lazy. She wasn’t irresponsible. She simply understood order. Presence before productivity. Listening before moving. Receiving before giving. Being with Him before doing for Him.
And I find myself praying:
Jesus, make me a Mary.
Teach me to stop making sandwiches You never asked for.
Teach me to stop filling my days with things that look important while missing the quiet invitation to sit with You.
Teach me not to measure my faithfulness by how much I accomplish for You, but by how closely I walk with You.
Because Jesus Himself lived this way.
He said, “The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing.” — John 5:19
Jesus didn’t live hurried, driven, or anxious. He lived attentive to the Father. He withdrew to pray. He listened. He watched. And then He moved.
This is the life I want.
Not a life of doing for His presence, but a life that flows from His presence.
The better part
When Martha became frustrated that Mary wasn’t helping her, Jesus said:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part.”
— Luke 10:41–42
Only one thing is necessary.
Those words undo so much of the striving in me.
Because there will always be another task. Another person who needs something. Another message. Another deadline. Another problem to solve.
But there is only One who can fill the deepest places of my soul.
Mary chose Him.
And perhaps this is what Jesus is inviting us into too — not a life without responsibility, but a life where responsibility no longer determines our rhythm.
His presence does.
We sit before we serve.
We listen before we speak.
We receive before we pour out.
We remain before we represent.
And strangely, when we begin here, we don’t become less fruitful.
We become more fruitful.
Because now what we carry into the world has been formed in His presence.
And this is where joy is found
Psalm 16 doesn’t say fullness of joy is found when everything is finished.
Or when everyone is happy with us.
Or when our circumstances finally make sense.
It says:
“In Your presence is fullness of joy.”
Maybe the joy we are searching for isn’t somewhere further down the road.
Maybe Joy Himself is already in the room.
And perhaps, like Mary, we simply need to stop long enough to notice Him.
So this is my prayer today:
Jesus, make me a Mary.
Give me a heart that recognises when You are near.
Quiet the Martha in me that feels she must constantly achieve, fix, organise and prove.
Teach me to sit at Your feet without feeling guilty about what isn’t getting done.
Teach me to love Your voice more than the noise around me.
I don’t want to build a life around what I think You need from me.
I want to build my life around You.
And then, Jesus, when You move—
I’ll move.
When You speak—
I’ll speak.
When You send me—
I’ll go.
But first…
let me sit at Your feet.
Because I am beginning to understand that the woman who learns to remain in His presence doesn’t accomplish less.
She simply stops wasting herself on things He never asked her to carry.
This Week’s Invitation
Ask yourself:
Am I working for His presence—or living from it?
Today, put something down.
Turn off the noise.
Sit with Jesus.
You don’t need an agenda. You don’t need beautiful words.
Just come.
Choose the better part.
It will not be taken from you.
Prayer
Jesus, make me a Mary.
Teach me to choose You before everything else.
Slow my heart enough to hear Your voice.
Free me from striving and from doing things You never asked of me.
I want to know the joy that is found simply in being with You.
May everything I do flow from intimacy with You.
I choose the better part.
I choose Your presence.
I choose You.
Amen.
#TheWaySheWalks #JesusMakeMeAMary #ChooseTheBetterPart #AtHisFeet #HisPresence #RemainInHim #PresenceBeforePerformance #IntimacyWithJesus #DaughtersOfGod #WalkWithJesus