84: Do The Work, Leave The Worry Artwork

Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle

Encouragement and Inspiration for women choosing to rise above the “just survive” mentality and instead set their mind on thriving in all that they say and do. The ultimate goal is to equip you to pursue whatever is excellent in the midst of your ordinary life and in all that you say and do.

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Whatever Is Excellent with Leanne Tuggle

84: Do The Work, Leave The Worry

June 30, 2026 • Leanne • Season 6 • Episode 84

0:00 | 23:29

Your to-do list can look holy and still be powered by anxiety. We talk through one of the most misunderstood Gospel moments, Jesus in the home of Martha and Mary, and why the real issue is not service but worry. Martha isn’t “the bad one” and Mary isn’t “the better one.” Jesus holds both with compassion, then gently names what’s happening under the surface: a heart that is anxious and troubled about many things.

We connect that story to real life for busy Christian women who juggle work, family, ministry, school, and the constant pressure to do it all well. When does hospitality turn into impressing? When does responsibility turn into resentment? And what would change if time with Jesus became preparation for our work instead of competition with it? Along the way we share a simple phrase that has been shaping our days: do the work, but leave the worry. It’s not a slogan, it’s a spiritual practice of releasing control and choosing trust.

We also follow Martha and Mary beyond Luke 10 into John 11 and John 12, where their faith and worship show what abiding produces over time. To close, we savor John 15:5–11, Jesus as the vine and us as the branches, and we name the invitation clearly: reorder your life without removing your responsibilities, and let your doing flow from being with Him. If this encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who feels overloaded, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

Teaching From A Women’s Event

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worthy of his love and attention. And he often goes out of his way to meet with women exactly where they are. But the encounter that really stood out to me, and the one that I chose to focus on for the purpose of this event, was the encounter found in Luke 10, where Jesus meets not one, but two women. So I'm going to read this passage from Luke 10, verses 38 through 42. Now, as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she went up to him and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her. As someone who is raised in the church, I've heard this story about Martha and Mary many

Reading Martha And Mary

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times throughout the years. And there is always this sort of a distinction made between the two women, like you're either a Mary or a Martha. Well, I was always a Martha. I'm a doer, someone who can be found bustling about, doing all of the things, achieving all the things, pleasing all the people. In high school, my mom used to say that she was exhausted just watching me. In college, I had an advisor who literally recommended that I go out and smell some roses. And when I was in grad school, I actually went to church and had requested a prayer session because I was feeling really stressed and overwhelmed with all the things. And one of the things that they suggested

Confessions Of A Lifelong Doer

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is that perhaps I was struggling with self-reliance and that that may be something I need to confess. And I remember thinking at the time, like, I don't know if that's it. I think I'm just really highly capable and I'm an energetic type of person. And I just have a lot going on right now. And unfortunately, I've really kind of dismissed their wisdom. As I got older, the hustle and the bustle turned into this sort of a striving that meant that rest was impossible. Once I finished a task, I was already on to the next thing. In fact, I used to have my different, you know, to-do list for each day. And I would finish all the things on that list, and then I would just go ahead and start on the next day. Instead of taking a break or resting or doing something for fun, I would just get ahead on the next day. And then I would do that the next day and the next day. There was just never any downtime. Needless to say, I'm definitely a task-oriented person. And maybe you are as well. This makes us a lot like Martha. And for me, I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to be like Mary. But God is so good. And he chose me as the mother of this precious girl because he knew that I needed firsthand experience of what it would be like to be around someone who is like a Mary. And to really understand this lesson that he wanted me to learn from Luke 10. Because my sweet girl is just like Mary. In fact, several months ago, this story just lives in my brain because it just impacted me so much. But a few months ago, she had come down the stairs to let me know that she was finished with her current Bible study on Colossians 3. So she asked me if there was another study for her to do, which of course there was because I'm task-oriented. And of course I had the next one already ready, right? Well, I handed her the next Bible study that I had picked out to her, which was all about Romans 8. But since it was a Friday, I suggested that maybe she should wait to start the study on Monday and just read through Romans 8 to kind of familiarize herself with the passage this time. And so she agreed.

A Childlike Picture Of Presence

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Yep, that made sense. And so she went upstairs and, you know, did her thing. And I continued to do all the things in the kitchen to get, you know, ready for the school day. Well, when I called the kids down for breakfast just a little bit later, she comes down with this like dreamy look on her face. And she just says, Mom, Romans 8 just blessed me so much. Even after I dropped my children off at school, I could not stop thinking about her exclamation. When was the last time I had felt that moved after reading a passage of scripture? When was the last time I read something in the Bible and it wasn't just to check it off my to-do list? It was in that moment I was so humbled and I was also reminded of this story about Martha and Mary. Now, truthfully, Mary is not better than Martha. Jesus does not compare these women. I think we do that a lot, but Jesus does not compare these women. In fact, we can see such tenderness and compassion that Jesus has directed towards both of these women. Even his gentle correction to Martha was given with so much love. The way he says her name twice and goes straight to the heart of the matter instead of criticizing her behavior. Jesus holds both of these women in the palm of his hands. So let's take a look at his encounter with Martha first. Martha willingly opens her home to Jesus. She invites him in, and culturally,

Jesus Corrects Without Comparing

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she was doing all of the right things. She was choosing to serve others, and this is good and necessary and honorable. The problems arose when her focus shifted from hospitality meant as a blessing to entertaining in an effort to impress. This is when she became overwhelmed. Because you see, the issue wasn't the work, it was the worry. I love this quote from Elizabeth Elliott in her book, Keep a Quiet Heart. She writes, He, Jesus, knew when to take action and when to leave things up to his Father. He taught us to work and watch,

Hospitality Turns Into Impressing

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but never to worry, to do gladly whatever we are given to do, and to leave all else with God. I read that towards the beginning of this year, and it has lived rent-free in my brain for all of these months, to the point where I have taken that longer quote and shrunk it down to just a handful of words that I repeat to myself more times than I'd like to admit. Do the work, but leave the worry. Do the work, but leave the worry. It's so simple, and yet

Do The Work, Leave The Worry

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for some reason, it is hard for us. Much like my own struggles, Martha is relying on herself and is striving to meet standards and expectations that no one else has placed on her. And yet, there is something here that Martha does that I truly admire and respect, and I think it is worth noticing. If you look at verse 40 of Luke 10, it says, And she went up to him. Martha goes straight to Jesus. She's feeling overwhelmed, she's feeling frustrated that Mary isn't helping her. She could have gone and just yelled at her sister, but she went straight to Jesus in the midst of her overwhelm, in the midst of her anxious feelings. At this point, I want you to think about your own circumstances and tendencies. Where has responsibility turned into resentment in your own life? Where has serving become striving? And are you willing to go to God and lay these burdens at his feet? I think my most favorite part of this

When Serving Becomes Striving

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passage is how Jesus responds to her. Martha. He says her name twice. And all throughout scripture, anytime something is repeated, it's because it's important. It's because God wants to emphasize its value, right? That this is something we have to pay attention to. And he says her name twice. I sort of picture her bustling around the kitchen, not even looking at him because she's so busy doing all of these things. So he has to say her name twice so that she will just look up at him. And then he speaks her name with such tenderness and love, so that when she looks at him, I have no doubt that she could see his compassion and love for her written all over his face. And because he loves her, he corrects her, because he knows that apart from him, we can't do anything. Now Mary is silent during this entire exchange. She is simply at the feet of Jesus, soaking in everything that he says. Her choice to sit at his feet is actually quite bold and courageous. In the same way that her sister confidently welcomed Jesus into their home, Mary doesn't hesitate to learn from him, which culturally during that time would have been more common for the men. Women did not get to sit at the feet of rabbis and learn. Men did. So here we see Mary has an opportunity to learn from Jesus, to learn from this very famous rabbi, and she takes it. And Jesus doesn't turn her away. Once again, we see Jesus' compassion and love and how he gives space for Mary to know him

Mary’s Bold Choice To Learn

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too. He doesn't tell her she's not allowed to sit there just because she's a woman. And Mary isn't being lazy, she is choosing presence over productivity. Or another way to look at her actions is that she is filling her cup with Jesus so that she can serve from a place of abundance instead of depletion. And Jesus graciously affirms her choice because again, he knows that it is only when we abide in him that we can bear fruit. So again, I want to invite you to consider does your work flow from time with Jesus or does it compete with it? Do you see time with Jesus as a break from your responsibility or as preparation for it? I was recently reading A Place for You by Kendra Dahl, and this quote really resonated with me as it pertains to

Being Before Doing And Identity

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this scripture passage. She says, being ought to precede doing. But we tend to want to jump over our being and fixate on our doing, letting our performance have the final say on who we are. Being proceeds doing, identity precedes activity. Our value as women is received. It's not something that we have to earn by doing all of the right things or serving in all of the right ministries. We are created by God in his image and we are redeemed by Jesus. And how do we begin to know who we are in Christ? By taking the time to simply be at his feet and learn more about who he is. In order to truly know who we are, we need to know him. We need to encounter Jesus for ourselves. And honestly, we need to do this every day. Jesus affirms three things in this passage with Martha and Mary. He affirms that when we abide in him, we can bear much fruit. When we choose to prioritize sitting at his feet, we are able to serve even more faithfully. And when we listen to his voice, we can embrace excellence and walk in obedience. Martha, like me, and perhaps many of us, let her work become more important than time with the Lord. And it's so easy to push off spending time with Jesus because of the sheer magnitude of all that needs to be done. Whether there are tests that you have to study for, or diapers to change, or lunches to pack, or dinner to prep, or dishes to wash, or laundry to fold, emails to send, errands to run, floors to mop, phone calls to make, the list could go on and on and on. No wonder Martha was anxious, and no wonder we often feel the same. But what if we considered Mary? What if we decided to do something wild and crazy and choose to start our day with the Lord? What if we opened the word and simply prayed,

Starting The Day With Jesus

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Lord, let me encounter you today. Let me know more of who you are. Let the Holy Spirit lead me as I soak up your words today for however long I get. And let the work that I have before me be an offering to you, Jesus. Let all that I say and do today bring you glory. Now, the best part of this story about Martha and Mary is that these verses in Luke are not the end of the story. These women get to encounter Jesus again, and it is clear that they have grown in their faith as a result of their interactions with him. These women appear again in John 11, when their brother Lazarus is very ill. And Martha reaches out to Jesus to come quickly. So let me read their interaction. John 11, 20. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give it to you. And then if you look at verse 25, Jesus says to her, I

How Martha And Mary Grow

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am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? And she says to him, Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. This is a woman who has been transformed by her relationship with Jesus. Those were bold

Martha’s Faith In John 11

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statements for her to claim. But she knows who he is, and her faith has grown as a result of her commitment to abide in him. And then there's Mary, sweet Mary, who has literally been at the feet of Jesus every moment that she can spare. And we get this beautiful encounter between her and Jesus in John 12, verse 3. It says, Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. You could honestly record an entire episode on just that one verse alone. But what I love about this is the truth that you can gather between the lines. Jesus has been speaking to his disciples about his coming death and resurrection for weeks up to this point. This interaction between Mary and Jesus happens about six days before his death on the cross. And she has been listening to everything he says at his feet. So I don't know whether she just felt compelled to sacrifice her most prized possession out of obedience, or I

Mary’s Costly Worship In John 12

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think perhaps she somehow was starting to put together what Jesus was saying. And she recognized the need to prepare him for his burial right now. Either way, she was willing to give what was most precious because she knows who he is, that he is more precious than anything else that she could ever hold. Jesus is inviting us to know who he is too. And while we might invite him into our homes or into our hearts, he is the one with the invitation. He is inviting us to come directly to him, to surrender our worries, our anxious thoughts to him, to lay down our self-reliant and people-pleasing tendencies and meet with him. Jesus is inviting you and me to reorder, not remove our responsibilities, and to choose what is necessary, to abide in him so that we can bear much fruit. Now, since I've been referencing this passage in John 15, I want to wrap up this episode by reading a portion of this chapter to you as a scripture for you to savor this week. In this passage, Jesus reminds us that he is the vine and

Reorder Life Through Abiding

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we are the branches. The life we long for doesn't come from striving harder or doing more, it comes from remaining connected to him. Many of us live very full lives. Like Martha, we carry responsibilities, we serve others, we care for our families, and we try to do all the things well. These things are good, but in the middle of all of the doing, Jesus gently invites us to do something deeper. And it is my prayer that you know who you are as an image bearer of God and that

Scripture To Savor In John 15

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you remember to be his beloved before you do all of the things. Jesus invites us to abide, to remain with him, to stay close to him, to draw our life and our strength from him. So as you reflect more on this throughout the week, remember that this invitation to abide isn't another task for your to-do list. It's an invitation into relationship, to sit at Jesus' feet like Mary, and allow your work, your service, and your life to flow from being with him, to do the work, but leave the worry. Something to ponder this week. Where do you notice yourself striving, worrying, or carrying things in your own strength instead of remaining connected to Jesus? And a scripture for you to savor. John fifteen, five through eleven. I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers, and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.