TheeSoulFuel Podcast
Welcome to your essential pitstop, where your soul gets the fuel it needs for life’s journey. In Christ, faith is the vehicle steering us through every twist and turn. Join us as we dive into real conversations about real-life challenges, all viewed through the lens of scripture. Don’t leave empty—come and be filled with the wisdom, strength, and grace to keep going.
TheeSoulFuel Podcast
Distracted but Devoted?
Are you doing a lot for God but missing time with Him? In this message, we unpack Luke 10:40–42 and learn how to stop letting distractions pull us away from the one thing that matters most—sitting at Jesus’ feet.
It is easy for you to create a mirage when you are in a spiritual drought a drought that does not exist for believers or should not exist for believers but it only happens when you allow yourself to be taken and exerted of all of your faith because of busyness, of trying to keep up with what culture is screaming to you and trying to tell you what you need to obey. I just want to walk in obedience. Welcome to the SoulFuel podcast, the pit stop for your soul to be fueled for your journey in life as you do it with Christ. I am super excited about today because it is a timely one, something that I've spoke about many different times before, but this one is all about distractions. Yeah, it's all about distractions because I want to.
Speaker 1:I am sometimes distracted with things that don't really make any sense. It seems as if it it makes sense, um, for a second. You know, sometimes it it seems like it makes sense, but it at the end of the day, when you get done, it doesn't right, and then you realize how much time has been wasted because you were on these things and watch this, the scripture we're going to look at. We've looked at it before. If you listen to sermons and teachings that we've done. It comes from the story of Mary and Martha, where Jesus reminds us that busyness isn't always faithfulness. Busyness is not always faithfulness. If that was a nugget, I need you to write that down somewhere, even if you don't put it in the comments, even if you don't put it in the chat, write it down somewhere. Busyness is not always faithfulness. Write it down somewhere. Busyness is not always faithfulness, and being pulled in many directions can rob us of the one thing that truly matters, right, and we can see that. We see that in movies all the time. We see where a character is pulled away by so many things. And you know, I bring this movie up because it's one of my still one of my favorite movies to this day, a film from 1997 titled Liar Liar, starring Jim Carrey. I like this movie not just because I like the movie, but because it fits this thing you can be carried away by your job.
Speaker 1:Fletcher was carried away by his job so much that he didn't see how it was affecting his son. He did not see how it was affecting his son, right, he did not see how it was affecting his son. He was working so much he did not no, he, he, he didn't realize that his son, his, he was destroying the relationship with his son because his work, so to the point where the kid didn't even ask for a toy or a bike or some big major thing for his birthday. He asked that in his wish, he made a wish that his dad could not tell a lie for an entire day, right? So, and watch this Fletcher wasn't. He was doing a bad thing by lying through through his job. You know, that's that's. You know that's neither here nor there. But the fact is he was trying to continue to do his job, work his job. He was busy, but it did not equal faithfulness. And then that's where it kind of falls apart when it comes to comparing it to that movie. But I just wanted to show you how busyness, um, sometimes can lead you away from it does all not sometimes, but it does it always. Robscher of being a great father to Max, right?
Speaker 1:So, going back to the text, if you've ever felt, if you've ever felt like you're doing a lot, like Martha Martha was doing a lot we're getting ready to read that scripture If you ever felt like you were doing a lot and you are doing a lot, but still you feel spiritually empty. This episode is for you, this talk is for you. All right, let's confront the noise. Let's confront the noise Going to the book of Luke, chapter 10, verse 40, verse through, verse 42 says but Martha was distracted with all her preparations and she came up to him and said Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me, tell her to help me, tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her Martha, martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things, but only one thing is necessary, only one thing is necessary, one thing. Can you say that out loud? There is only one thing. Can you say that out loud? There is only one thing that is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part. Oh, my god, I know literally. Oh my god. Mary has chosen the good part which shall not be taken away from her. It won't be taken away from her. This encounter happens in Bethany, at the home of Martha. Mary and who? You guessed it? Lazarus. Close friends of Jesus. Close friends of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Hospitality was a high social value in Jewish culture. Hospitality was a high social value in Jewish culture Right, and women were expected to prepare, serve and host guests, especially honored teachers such as Jesus. Martha was doing what was culturally appropriate she was serving. So was what Martha was doing wrong? Absolutely not. She's doing hosting guests, but she allowed the urgent to override the essential. She allowed the urgent, what didn't really matter, to override what actually mattered. Mary broke social expectation by sitting at Jesus's feet. This is the difference, see, which one are you going to be? Which one are you going to be? Are you going to be busy, like Martha, or are you going to be perfectly distracted, like Mary? Which one? Because Mary, again, she breaks the expectation of being of, of, of, of serving, and essentially, she puts herself in a position to be an even better servant by allowing her attention to be drawn to the Savior. This is interesting. This is interesting.
Speaker 1:Mary takes a position typically reserved for male disciples. Disciples Get that. She takes a position typically reserved for male disciples, but yet Jesus commended her and celebrated her through his response to Martha for Mary prioritizing presence over performance, to Mary for prioritizing presence over performance. So that's one of the questions I want to ask you today Are you prioritizing presence over performance? Because a lot of church people, a lot of people, a lot of people who are, who claim to be believers, are not really Prioritizing, right, they're prioritizing performance over presence. But I'd rather have presence over performance, performance.
Speaker 1:Jesus gently corrects Martha. He gently corrects Martha, he gently repositions her focus, because Martha is distracted by duty, and her duty was robbing her of devotion to him, robbing her of devotion to him. Her duty was robbing her, her uh, of her freedom, her, her duty was robbing her of her, uh, of her salvation. It's robbing taking attention of what really matters the presence of god, the presence of god. Moving so much. You doing too much, martha. You doing too much. That's.
Speaker 1:This is the reason why you have to go from being Martha to Mary. You got to be, you got to go from Martha to Mary, and I believe that this is a, this is a word that can apply, that applies to men too. You got to find yourself at his feet, learning of him. He says take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Right, but what is being distracted? Being distracted means to be pulled or dragged away, mentally or emotionally torn between competing priorities. Right, martha is torn mentally and emotionally by competing priorities. Why? Because she's worried about what somebody else is doing and not necessarily why they are doing what they are doing Versus her just being busy with what she got going on. She's worried about somebody else that's not helping her do what she is culturally Conditioned to do or supposed to be doing.
Speaker 1:Jesus didn't condemn Martha For being busy. Jesus didn't condemn Martha for being busy, but he does rebuke her and corrects, or corrects her Because she is complaining about something that she should be doing as well. Don't bother Martha, she's, she's doing the good part, this is the good part of the day, this is the best part of her life. Can you, can you look at yourself? Can, can you just? Can you look in the mirror? You don't even need to look in the mirror. But could you say to yourself I want the good part, I want the good part of my day, I want the. I want the good part. I don't need to be. You miss out on the good part when you are distracted with the noise, when you are distracted with busyness.
Speaker 1:But here is the Holy Ghost giving us a gentle reminder today that you have to shift your focus. Shift your focus. Don't be distracted by the duty of life, focus. Don't be distracted by the duty of life, don't be distracted by the duties of your job, don't be distracted by the duties of trying to keep up with these relationships, because that busyness doesn't equal productivity. It just means you're moving a lot and wherever you're moving a lot, you are exerting a lot of energy into these things. And here you are being zapped of the water. You're being zapped. You are exerting yourself so much where you are missing out on what the spirit is doing, on what the spirit is doing, and that is equivalent to you becoming exhausted and ending up in a dry place, you ending up a dry place. Now you have given out everything you got to life, so much to the point where you have abandoned the faith you have abandoned. You say you still got faith, but it's like you're real low. You're on E and this is why this is the soul fuel, because this is to bring you, this is to bring you back, this is to put more, this is to put it back in you. And then you have to continue to do the work. You're here because this is a part of the work that you're putting in to be poured into. Jesus is the source. So wherever you're listening to a word, you have to make sure that it is coming directly from the source. And this source that we're getting it is from where we're getting.
Speaker 1:It is from Luke, chapter 10, verse 40 and 42, where Jesus is correcting Martha because she she is tripping on the fact that Mary is in a position Of being fed. Mary is in a position of being fed, mary is in a position of being blessed. Mary is in a position of where she should be, but she's caught up, distracted. The key thing here is that she is distracted. She is pulled away mentally and emotionally between competing priorities. This word distracted I'm giving you the Greek definition and it implies internal agitation. It's in, it's always internal. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. Remember that anytime you hear somebody that that says something that needs to be corrected in the word and jesus corrects it, go back to what jesus said. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. She's speaking what's in her heart. And to be distracted means that there is an internal agitation and outward busyness that steals spiritual focus. I can't focus spiritually when I'm internally agitated because whatever's happening internal, that's what's happening in my heart Her being worried, her being worried and bothered about so many things Jesus says.
Speaker 1:But the Lord answered and said to her Martha, martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things. This is what I'm telling you, like a lot of the stuff that you, that you trip about, you you be, you be looking at bills. You look this, this, this is my NTAA bill from going through tolls. You be worried about this stuff. I'm like man, I'll get to it. I'm going to get to it. I'm going to take care of it before I leave. I'm going to get to it. But Jesus says, martha, you worry, you worry, ursuline, ursuline, you are worried about so many things. Leneza, leneza, you are worried about so many things. Leneza, leneza, you are worried about so many things. Your name made the podcast. Sorry, you're worried about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Only one thing is necessary Worried means to be anxiously divided.
Speaker 1:Get that Anxiously divided From a root meaning to be pulled in parts. Oh man, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Oh man, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. This word merimnus, merimnus or merimnus Greek word for worried means to be anxiously divided. Do you hear how destructive that is, to be anxious. Do you know how messed up you have to be to be anxiously divided? And it's more than one part, it's two. We see priority over presence. Right, she's, and watch this. The thing is that she is. It's more than presence, it's about the presence of somebody else, not being there instead of her presence and being where. Mary is as well. So, again, anxiously divided from a root meaning to be pulled in parts.
Speaker 1:A mind fragmented by worry, a mind fractured by worry. Come on, he says you are worried and bothered. Wait a minute, jesus Wouldn't that kind of be the same. Nah, if Jesus said it that way, that means there's two different meanings for both words. Worried is anxiously divided. Right To be pulled in parts. A mind that is fractured by worry, a mind fragmented by worry, and then bothered means to be mentally disturbed, troubled or upset. Bothered is mentally disturbed, troubled or upset. Basically, he's saying you have a soul in your body that is in constant motion but lacking clarity. You have a soul that is in constant motion but are lacking clarity. The next part. But only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part. Let's look at this word chosen. She has chosen the good part. Let's look at this word chosen. She has chosen the good part.
Speaker 1:Mary's decision to sit at Jesus's feet was intentional and discerning. The word implies selecting what is best with care and priority. When you have chosen oh my God, when you have have chosen, you have selected it carefully. You have weighed out all of the, the, the, the options. You have thought about this thing carefully.
Speaker 1:Mary says I know I'm supposed to be serving, but this is Jesus. I got to sit down. I got to sit down, martha got it, and if Martha knew better, she would come sit down too, right? So I want to ask you that question have you really chosen? Have you? Have you really? Have you really chosen? Have you really chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus, or are you distracted like Martha? Are you you distracted like Martha with all of your work, with all of the things that the kid, the places that the kids got to go and the things that need to be done? What are you distracted with? Why are you allowing it to take so much of your time, so much of your action? So much that it is making you, it is causing a spiritual drought, it is causing a dry place. It is amazing because it is doing what it takes to build a dry place. It's almost like set decoration and set design.
Speaker 1:A lot of stuff you see in movies nine times out of 10 is fake. It's all created, most of the time it's in the studio green screen, blue screen and CGI, computer generated images. Technology is getting better. Computer, the computer is getting better. Everything is becoming more fake and more fake and more fake. In other words, all I'm saying.
Speaker 1:The reason why I bring that up, is I'm saying that it is easy for you to create a mirage when you are in a spiritual drought, a drought that does not exist for believers or should not exist for believers. But it only happens when you allow yourself to be taken and exerted of all of your faith because of busyness, of trying to keep up with what culture is screaming to you and trying to tell you what you need to obey. But distraction isn't always about sin either. Notice I never talked about sin, about sin either. Notice I never talked about sin, because distraction doesn't always, it doesn't always mean that you're being pulled away by sin.
Speaker 1:Martha was pulled away by doing what she was supposed to be doing, but she failed to realize that at this moment, this ain't the time for you to be doing that. This is the time for you to sit down and be at his feet. You got to know when. You got to know when to stop talking. You got to know when to call out of work. Come on, you would say, well, what if I don't show up on but? But you can't exert. Listen, you are human. You got to. You got to know when it's time to leave. You got to know. You got you gotta. You gotta know when it's time to leave. You gotta know. You gotta know when I'm doing too much. You gotta know when I'm. You gotta know. You just gotta know. You know it. Most people know it. All of you know I ain't got time for that. I don't even feel like it. You know, you know it. That's all Jesus is saying.
Speaker 1:Like, distraction isn't always about sin. We already know that, of course, sin is a distraction. It can be a distraction. We already know that, of course, sin is a distraction and can be a distraction, but it's often more about being overwhelmed by good things. That keeps us from the best thing. Let me see if I can say that one more time you're being overwhelmed by good things. That keeps you from the best thing. It's so easy to do, and a lot of people do this every day, which is why they can't wait to Sunday, because they feel like Sunday is the only day that they get a chance to be free. But no, or Saturday, even for those people. On Saturday they feel like, oh, that's the only day I'm going to rest. No, he said come unto me, all you that labor who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Rest in me every day. Jesus isn't condemning service, right, which is what we just said. He's not condemning service, but he's calling us back to intimacy.
Speaker 1:Ecclesiastes would spell this out for us nicely in, I believe, chapter three. We say there's a time under the sun for everything. There's a time to mourn, there's a time to laugh, there's a time to dance, there's a time to cry. There's a time to dance. There's a time to cry. There's a time to plant, there's a time to pluck up which is what was planted. There's a time to die. There's a time for everything, but you cannot. This is why you got to be led by the spirit, because the spirit will let you know hey, it's time to sit down. It's time to sit down Even in what you do watch this.
Speaker 1:If you are doing what you do as unto the Lord, as you're supposed to be anyway, you'll know when it's time to sit down, because mentally and faith-wise and faithfully faith-based, we're, faith-based individuals and faith-based people. So we should already be doing what we are doing as unto the Lord. But if we're doing as what we're, if we're not doing what we're like our jobs, as unto the Lord, then of course we will get distracted and caught up. Oh, I got to do this, I got to finish this, I got to make sure I do this because if I don't get this, I won't ever be this. And then, but Jesus says wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm the one that supplies seed to the sower, I'm the one that supply bread for food.
Speaker 1:Why, no, no, no, wait, intimacy. You lose intimacy. Watch this it's no different than my wife has to work. She don't lose. We don't lose intimacy as a couple because she has to spend time at work. I get her service, she gets my service. I hope that makes sense. There's a time to be called back into intimacy.
Speaker 1:I know it doesn't mean that you're less intimate because you're busy, but it would mean that, depending on what you are busy doing, on what you are busy doing, like Martha, we can be so busy for Jesus that we forget to be with Jesus. That speaks to the point of what I was just saying. You're doing as you do, as unto the lord, but you forget to be with the lord. That's like so many, so many pastors are doing it today. They say they're doing it for the lord, we're doing ministry for you, we're doing doing kingdom business, but it ain't with Jesus though. How you going, how you going work for that, how you going to do kingdom business and be and be kingdom minded when it's when you're not doing it with Jesus?
Speaker 1:Distractions come in the form of obligations. Distractions come in the form of obligations. It comes in the form of noise, it comes in the form of performance. Distraction even comes in the form of anxiety and it even comes in the form of what I was just speaking to Religious activity. Religious activity. I was just speaking to religious activity, religious activity.
Speaker 1:Listen, I hope this talk has challenged you. I pray that it's challenged you to silence the noise and to get back to what matters, to not be distracted by the things by the wayside, to get you back to Jesus's feet. Don't keep it to yourself. Don't keep this episode to yourself. I want you to share it with someone, probably somebody you just had this conversation with. Share with someone who has been caught in the hustle but starving for real peace, and that's how you miss out on the peace of God, when you are pulled away by every distraction. So, listen, I want you to make sure that you are subscribed, that you leave a review on this episode. I want to hear from you how it has blessed you and how it has helped you. You can also support the show on Patreon at patreoncom. Forward slash the soul fuel. Your support keeps this fuel going. I love you and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.
