8 Reasons to Prioritize Time with Jesus
The sun is nearly up, and my kids are already bouncing off the walls while I muster up just enough energy to roll over in bed and check the time. The day begins and so do the tasks: diaper changes, laundry loads, mouths to feed, more laundry loads, dishes to wash—oh, and I can’t forget to have everyone brush their teeth, let alone change out of pajamas before heading out the door. Can I get an amen?
Motherhood can be filled with task after task from sun up to sun down. These tasks can feel mundane and never-ending—for often they are. And mundane as they may be, they must be done as we care for our homes and our children. Yet, if we aren’t careful, we can hit the ground running each day, striving to check off the list of to-dos while forgetting there is something—or rather someone—more important than finding the pair of matching socks in the laundry basket.
Distressed and Distracted
If motherhood were a GIF that needed captioning, it might read, “distracted by her many tasks” (Luke 10:40). The needs are nonstop. In Luke 10, Martha can relate to this. She had opened up her home to none other than the Lord Jesus and was busily serving him and others. In her hostessing, she found herself overwhelmed by the many needs before her and desired a helping hand from her sister. When was the last time we too thought, “If only I had another set of hands!”?
Rather than commending her acts of service, though, and encouraging Mary to help out, Jesus tells Martha in that moment that her sister has chosen the better option. She “sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39). Martha had been anxious and distressed by all that she needed to do. But the Lord saw it differently. He pointed her to the one thing she actually needed—him and his words.[1]
As mothers, we can be so tempted to believe the necessary thing is a dishwasher of clean dishes, baby teeth brushed, homework checked, and a laundry basket of folded clothes. That if we don’t get to it now, it won’t get done, and if it doesn’t get done, then we have failed that day as mothers. But Jesus tells us that “one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42).
Nourished by His Word
When Jesus was being tempted in the wilderness by Satan, he declared that “man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Though we need the nourishment that comes from food to live, Jesus tells us that we have an even greater need in order to live—his very Word. It’s not that there aren’t needs in our home, needs that our children have that we are called to meet, but there is an even greater claim on our time—being fed by his Word.
When our to-dos loom as large as the grocery list and exhaustion settles in deep, oftentimes the easiest thing to punt is spending time in God’s Word and prayer. We can treat it as if it’s the one unnecessary thing. But if God tells us we need his very Word to live on—that one thing is necessary—then it reorders our priorities as moms. Spending time hearing from the Lord through his Word—as hard as it may be some days—will help us truly mother to the glory of God. Here are eight reasons why:
We need God’s Word to renew us to see that the “mundane” tasks of motherhood are ministry—good works that he’s prepared for us to walk in.[2]
We need God’s Word to remind us that his grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in our weakness.[3]
We need God’s Word to reveal to us his character and promises that we may cling to them.[4]
We need God’s Word to encourage us to continuously cast all of our cares on him because he really does care for us.[5]
We need God’s Word to comfort us with the promise that he is with us and will help us.[6]
We need God’s Word to challenge us to model and share the love of Christ with our children.[7]
We need God’s Word to transform us more into the image of his Son as we behold him by faith in the Scriptures.[8]
We need God’s Word to reassure us that our righteousness isn’t in a completed to-do list but in Christ by faith.[9]
Making the Better Choice
So, mama, may we set our eyes not solely on the needs we must meet but on our need for Jesus and his Word. May we fuel our days not just with coffee but with the Words of life. May we prioritize not only responding to texts but first getting into the text. Whether for thirty seconds or thirty minutes, whether listening to our Bible app while nursing or meditating on a Scripture notecard taped to our kitchen wall while cooking, whether doing an inductive study at our desk on lunch break or having the Bible read to us as we drive our children to school—may we choose the better option by regularly sitting at the Lord’s feet hearing what he has to say.
It is not in our “finished work” at the end of the day that we can find rest but only in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Let’s dive into his Word often to be refreshed with that gospel truth!
[1] Luke 10:38-42
[2] Ephesians 2:10
[3] 2 Corinthians 12:9
[4] Psalm 119:14-18, 27
[5] 1 Peter 5:7
[6] Isaiah 41:10
[7] Isaiah 66:13
[8] 2 Corinthians 3:18
[9] Titus 3:5
