Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Yep, that's our diagnosis for Martha, and for all of us. We are worried and upset about lots of stuff. Worry, anxiety, fear, those are all things that separate us from God. Satan can use these things to create a wall between us and God. It can cloud our vision. I am a born worrier and I'm sure lots of us are. She quotes in the book that of all of the things I worry about, 40% of those won't even happen. What? Think of all the time I could get back if I didn't worry about so much. She also states that there is a difference between worry and concern. Concerns are things that draw us closer to God through prayer, where we look to God for the answers or solutions. Worry on the other hand makes us look to our selves and others for answers to our problems. Gary E Gilley states that "Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust Him. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on Him all the more." Finally, in the battlefield of our minds we are reminded to "take captive" all of our thoughts (2 Cor. 10:5). She also reminds us that we will have troubles in this world (John 16:33), but the love of God is perfect and will cast out our fears (1 John 4:18).
In the discussion questions, she reminds us that fear affects us physically and spiritually. She had us read Luke 8:14 about the different kinds of soil. She asks us to list the three things that may choke the Word of God out of our lives (cares, riches, and pleasures). Which one do you struggle with most, and how does it choke you spiritually? Well, I could find something in all of them. Cares= worry and anxiety about things I can't control. Riches= money and the worldly focus on wants. Pleasures= those things I think I need to have to be happy. I thought back to the chapter where we discussed the urgent verses the important. That's what it is. The urgent things choke me of my spiritual needs where as the important ones fill me up. I have truly enjoyed digging into my bible recently and actually opening it. That's not getting the house clean, but it sure makes me clean (Psalm 51:10-12).
Finally, I really connected with the thought that an intense fog in London, a hundred feet deep, and several city blocks wide is only composed of less than one glass of water. We let that one toxic worry creep in and all of a sudden the fog has separated us from God. The fear that is really just a small glass can cloud my whole view of the love God has for me.
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