When Martha met Jesus on the road after her brother died ......“Mom,” he says, looking intently in my eyes. Then, in a slow, sweet drawl marked by his speech impediment, he draws

When Martha met Jesus on the road after her brother died, a powerful exchange of truth occurred between the two of them. After pouring out her pain and confusion, Martha gave Jesus permission to do what He thought best, saying, “But I know that even now God will give you what-ever you ask” (John 11:22).

In response, Jesus made one of His seven great “I Am” declarations, all recorded in the gospel of John. “I am the resurrection and the life,” He told Martha. “…Do you believe this?” (verses 25–26).

“Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Christ,” she replied (verse 27). And Martha did believe! Unlike some of her fellow Jews, she had faith in an end-time resurrection. She knew her brother would live again. In that

faith-filled moment, Martha may have even believed Jesus could speak resurrection life into her brother that very day.

But later, as Martha stood before Lazarus’s tomb, her faith faltered. Face to face with grief-filled reality, she found it difficult to believe that anyone—even Jesus—could bring life out of such obvious death and decay.

It can be just as hard for us to imagine such a transformation in our lives today.

Yes, Lord, we know that one day we’ll be made truly alive when we see you face to face. But to think we might experience resurrection right here in the middle of our messy, mixed-up existence? It just doesn’t seem possible, we decide, settling for the midchamber and just hanging on until Jesus comes.

Yet all the while, the Resurrection and the Life stands outside our tombs, calling our names.

“Lazarus… Joanna…” Put your name on His lips.

Then listen as Jesus commands, “Come forth!”

—Lazarus Awakening

READ: Mark 9:21-24

REFLECT: In what area of your life do you need God’s help to overcome unbelief?

Ephesians 3:20, nkjv

The Mary-Hearted Leader Devotional www.JoannaWeaverBooks.com

When I missed my book deadline six months into a contract, I had the bare tracings of three chapters—a far cry from the ten I’d promised to deliver.

“I feel like I’m holding a pregnancy test stick, and it says I’m expecting a book,” I told my publisher, “but I have absolutely no symptoms. No movement, not even a tummy bump to tell me it will be born.”

The only assurance I felt was that this book was God’s idea and not my own. More important, I could hear God challenging me to believe, no matter what the situation looked like.

So it appears impossible? I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my spirit. So it looks like you’ll never finish this project?

“Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Jesus asked Martha at the door of her brother’s tomb (John 11:40). Standing at the threshold of my impossibility, I heard that same ques-tion daily for twenty-four months.

Four days is a long time to wait for a resurrection. Two years feels like an eternity to write a book.

But if you’ll believe, Joanna, you will see.

“Lean not on your own understanding,” Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths” (NKJV).

Don’t look at how far you have to go, God seemed to whisper each day as I sat down to write. Instead, look for Me on the journey. Acknowledge My presence even in the middle of this emptiness. Don’t try to work up faith for the outcome. Just believe in Me. Then you will see.


READ: Luke 1:45

REFLECT: What doubt is holding you back? Write this verse on a card and repeat it whenever you are tempt-ed to give way to fear.

Romans 4:18


My mother is a master gardener. I wish you could sip iced tea with us as we look over her backyard. Every corner is filled with a beautiful tapes-try of color that spills over her carefully edged flower beds. The scents are intoxicating, and the fruits of her labor luscious as we eat raspber-ries just picked from the vine.

None of this beauty happened by accident. It has been carefully planned and tended, with a lot of backbreaking work. As we walk through the garden, my mother points out each of the plants by name.

“This rosebush didn’t bloom much last year, so I had to cut it back,” she says, cradling a lovely blossom in her hand. “This peony had to be

moved to get more sun, and I had to pull out a lot of irises to make more room for corn.”

Her eyes glow warmly as she talks about her tasks, but what she describes is a series of seemingly brutal acts. Leafy branches chopped off. Healthy bushes pulled up by their roots. Blooming plants dug up and tak-en away. Each act is a certain kind of death. But all of it is done with love in the interest of summer bounty.

As I stroll with my mother through her garden, I’m reminded of the times I’ve questioned the One who tends the garden of my life.

Especially when, in the interest of growth, God takes away in order to add.


READ: Hebrews 6:7-12

REFLECT: Why is it so important that your life produces a harvest?

Song of Songs 2:15


The one thing that Jesus said was needed in Martha’s life was fellowship with Him—and that’s true for us, too. But the principle of “one thing” also has smaller, practical implications that can help when life feels overwhelming. Here are some ways to practice one-thing thinking when your life feels overloaded.

1. Invite Jesus to rule and reign. Each morning before you get out of bed, invite the Lord to come take the throne of your life, to be your “one thing.” Present your day to Him and ask Him for wisdom and guid-ance.

2. Ask God to reveal the next step. As you go through your day, keep asking the Lord, “What is the one thing I need to do next?” Don’t

let the big picture overwhelm you. Just take the next step as He reveals it—wash one dish, make one phone call, put on your jogging clothes. Then take the next step…and the next.

3. Have faith that what needs to get done will get done. Since you have dedicated your day to the Lord, trust that He’ll show you the one thing or many things that must be done. Do what you can do in the time allotted. Then trust that what wasn’t accomplished was either unnecessary or is being taken care of by God.

4. Be open to the Spirit’s leading. You may find your day interrupted by divine appointments. Instead of resisting the interruptions, flow with the one thing as God brings it across your path. You’ll be amazed at the joy and freedom that comes from surrendering your agenda and cooperating with His.

—Having a Mary Heart

READ: Psalm 37:23-24

REFLECT: Walk through the steps given above as you prayerfully commit your day to the Lord.

Proverbs 16:3


One extra-busy day, I came across this poem in Mother Teresa’s book Life in the Spirit. This retelling of the twenty-third psalm ministered to my weary heart, reminding me that we have a Gentle Shepherd who knows the things we need as well as the pace we should go.

The Lord is my pace setter…I shall not rush

He makes me stop for quiet intervals

He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity

He leads me in the way of efficiency through calmness of mind and his guidance is peace

Even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day, I will not fret, for his presence is here

His timelessness, his all importance will keep me in balance

He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of my activity by anointing my mind with his oils of tranquility

My cup of joyous energy overflows

Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits of my hours for I shall walk in the Pace of my Lord and dwell in his house for ever.

—Having a Mary Heart

READ: Psalm 23

REFLECT: What part of this psalm do you need most today?

Isaiah 40:11

Insert title here The Mary-Hearted Leader Devotional www.JoannaWeaverBooks.com

After hearing several hundred sermons about Mary and Martha of Beth-any and their story found in Luke 10:38-42, I assumed the meaning was fairly straightforward. Mary was the heroine. Martha was the villain. And, unfortunately, too much of the time I was Martha! I felt the Lord convicting me of my tendency to rush around, busy with “many things” while ignoring the “one thing” that was needed—to sit at Jesus’s feet.

But as I studied the rest of the sisters’ story in John 11 and 12, I discov-ered something so beautiful, so amazing, that I felt compelled to share it in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. For I saw two women change before my eyes, both of them experiencing a holy makeover when they encountered the living Lord.

Perhaps the most comforting thing I learned was that none of us has it all together. Even on our best days and with our best intentions, we all eventually blow it. We start out operating in our gifts and talents—excited to be serving the Messiah—only to have our efforts morph into a full-blown pity party when we don’t get enough help, or we aren’t appreciated, or someone else gets the attention we know we deserve.

But what stood out most to me was the fact that when Jesus scolded Martha about her busyness, He wasn’t condemning her efficiency and hard work or her can-do personality. He wasn’t telling her she had to be just like Mary to please Him. Jesus simply didn’t want Martha to be so caught up in Kitchen Service for Him that she missed out on the joy of Living Room Intimacy with Him.

Jesus offers the same invitation to you and me today.

—Having a Mary Spirit

READ: Luke 10:38-42

REFLECT: Which sister do you relate to most, and why?

Psalm 46:10


Ah, the indescribable joy of being loved!

My little Romeo of a son can’t seem to do enough to show how much he adores me. His attentions come complete with dandelions and stick-figure cards and lots and lots of verbal declarations.

It’s not just the words that make my heart go pitter-patter; it is the way he says them. He doesn’t throw them flippantly over his shoulder as he goes outside to play. Nor does he use his affection to win his own way. Not yet, anyway. For now, at least, his professions of love are just pure adoration. And lately, for whatever reason, Josh infuses these three syl-lables with such ardor and emotion they take my breath away.

“Mom,” he says, looking intently in my eyes. Then, in a slow, sweet drawl marked by his speech impediment, he draws out the middle word to give it extra emphasis. “I wuuuuv you.”

Suddenly, all is right with my world.

My heart captures a snapshot with a scribbled caption describing the joy of being loved. Not for what I’ve done, not even for who I am. But simply because the mere sight of me causes such intense emotion that words are required.

Why am I telling you this? To make you wish you’d had an unexpected pregnancy at age forty that re-sulted in an amazing little boy like mine?

No, though I could wish no greater gift for anyone.

I’m telling you this because Joshua is teaching me about the kind of relationship Christ longs to have with me. The love affair I’m enjoying with my six-year-old is the kind of love affair God wants to enjoy with all His children. The intermingling of hearts He has longed for since the foundation of the world.


READ: Ephesians 3:17-19

REFLECT: How does verse 19 describe God’s love, and what happens when we come to know it?

Deuteronomy 33:12


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When Martha met Jesus on the road after her brother died ......“Mom,” he says, looking intently in my eyes. Then, in a slow, sweet drawl marked by his speech impediment, he draws