DAY 7: "These Are All For You"

Yesterday I had a vision of a little girl carrying a lot of bleak-looking parcels. They were heavy, difficult to handle and of no real use for a child. I saw Jesus coming towards her and take these parcels out of her hands. Then He took the little girl by the hand and led her into a gorgeously decorated room with a lit Christmas tree and a multitude of beautifully wrapped gifts laying beneath it. As she gasped in wonder He said: These are all for you. Then He scooped her up in His arms and just held her close to His chest.

Now I do not know Martha's story and the Bible does not tell us much. What we do know is that she had a story — as we all do. It was very unusual for a house to be named after a woman in those days (cf. Luke 10:38). Some think this suggests her parents died early and she inherited the home as the oldest of her siblings. Whatever her story may have been sometime during that story she was handed parcels she was never meant to carry. These heavy expectations, the many things that troubled her, made her life difficult and exhausting.

The vision above is for the Martha inside each one of us. Jesus wants to remove these useless weights that steal the joy. He wants to take Martha by the hand and lead her to a beautiful place she never thought she belonged. He wants to restore the wonder of His unmerited grace. Just like the awe of a little child on Christmas morning He wants to wow us by His goodness. He wants to scoop your Martha, the performing one, the functioning one, up in His arms and hold her close — where she belongs.

Tip:  Take some time today and make a written list of everything that weighs you down, that bothers and worries you in this season. Then, one item at a time, give it to Jesus in prayer.