Becoming a Non-Anxious Presence

God of Peace, I offer You my worries, I bring You my brokenness, and I surrender my striving. As I rest in Your presence, I receive Your peace.

I pause and pray...

Today, I am reflecting on what it means to be a non-anxious presence at a time when so many people are overwhelmed by anxiety, grief, and uncertainty.

(Read: Luke 10:38-42)

In his translation of the New Testament, J.B. Phillips describes Martha as, "very worried about her elaborate preparations". Martha seems restless, irritable, on edge; she is distracted, struggling to concentrate on anything. She feels uncared for. Martha doesn’t need someone to help her. She just needs to stop.

Have I become worried and distracted by a whole lot of things that I don’t need to be doing?

Is there one thing that I should be doing which I have neglected?

I talk to God about it now.

I pause and pray...

I think of someone I know who is struggling with anxiety, and I take time to pray for them.

I pause and pray...

The word "chosen" caught my attention. Jesus says that "Mary has chosen what is better", suggesting that Martha could have chosen it too. When I am distracted and overwhelmed, there is an alternative. Like Mary, I too can choose to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him.

I pause and pray...

Lord Jesus, I yield my life to Your best purpose today. Through everything I do, may I, like Mary, be a non-anxious presence, heeding the words of Psalm 116:7, "Return to your rest, my soul".

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