Invite Jesus In—and Actually Sit With Him

We say all the time that we’re waiting to feel the Lord, waiting for a moment when His presence feels real, when we can sense that He’s close. But lately, I’ve been wondering if it’s actually the other way around. What if Jesus is the one waiting, sitting in our living room, ready to meet with us, while we’re too busy or distracted to come sit at His feet?

The story of Mary and Martha is one that I find myself going back to in many seasons of my life. Every time I read it, new words pop out of the page at me. (Isn’t it crazy how the Word is alive and active and always teaching us new things?!)

Recently, as I was reading and journaling, I saw myself in Martha more than ever. Like her, I’m constantly inviting the Lord in, opening my home, my heart, and my calendar, saying, “Jesus, I want to know You.” Yet somehow, I’ve never felt more distant from Him. It’s like I desire a deep relationship with Him, yet something isn’t connecting in this season.

I can’t help but think that Martha might have felt the same way that day–

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.” Luke 10:38

This was the verse that stood out to me the most recent time I read it: Martha was the one who invited Jesus into her home! She opened her home, and she wanted things to be just right for Him. But in all her doing, she missed the moment to just be. She was busy doing good things. She was being productive, preparing dinner, and desiring to serve Jesus. The things she was checking off her to-do list were, in fact, very good and beneficial things. Her schedule was full of good intention. Yet, she was missing something.

“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made…” Luke 10:39-40

While Martha moved around the house trying to make everything perfect for Jesus, Mary simply sat with Him. She wasn’t caught up in what needed to be done; she was caught up in who was right in front of her. Mary understood something that Martha (and honestly, I) often forget: that time spent at His feet is never wasted time.

And honestly, it’s so easy to reason with our flesh. We start to come up with what sound like good excuses. “I just don’t have time today.” “I’ll pray later.” “God knows my heart.” But so often, those “reasonable” thoughts are just distractions in disguise. They’re lies from the enemy that keep us busy enough to miss what’s right in front of us. Corrie Ten Boom once said that “if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.” Now that is a truth that stings but is beyond real.

When I picture Martha that day, I can feel her anxiety. I mean Jesus himself is sitting a few feet away. There is probably so much that could be done to look good for Him. Yet, Jesus responds with a gentle reminder:

“Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is necessary.” Luke 10:41

That one thing, the better thing, was what Mary had already chosen. She set her to-do list aside. She put down her phone. She turned her cheek to the lies of the enemy, she chose a moment of slow instead of hurry.

Because when we finally slow down, when we stop striving and simply sit with Him, we find what our souls have been craving all along.

“Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.” Psalm 84:10

Nothing we could accomplish, no checklist we could complete, can compare to a single moment spent at His feet.

Maybe, Jesus isn’t the one we’re waiting on, but rather He’s been waiting on us all along, sitting right there, ready to meet with us the moment we finally slow down.

He doesn’t need the perfect meal, the perfect plan, or the perfect version of us. He just wants our attention. When Jesus arrives, He wants our eyes and our hearts.

So today, let’s make it simple:
Invite Jesus in—and actually sit with Him.

Put the distractions aside. Set the phone down. Let the checklist wait. Jesus is already in the room, and He’s not asking for perfection. He’s asking for presence.