The story of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus is endlessly rich for contemplation. We often remember Martha as the one who was fretful when Jesus came to dinner, busy, distracted, pulled in many directions. Mary, by contrast, sat at the Lord’s feet, choosing what Jesus called the “better part.”
But what moves me most is what happens later. When Jesus returns to Bethany after Lazarus has died, Martha is still the active one—the doer, the one who runs out to meet Him. Yet something in her has changed. Her anxiety has ripened into trust. Her striving has softened into faith. She looks at Jesus and says:
“I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”
It is one of the most profound confessions of faith in all of Scripture and it comes from Martha, the one we often think of as anxious, overwhelmed, or distracted.
Her story reminds us that God does not shame our anxiety. God transforms it.
Her worry becomes wisdom. Her restlessness becomes recognition. Her longing becomes love.
And so I find myself wondering:
- Where has your own anxiety quietly drawn you closer to God, even when you didn’t realize it at the time?
- Where has your restlessness become a doorway into deeper trust?
- And where might you still be resisting—still clinging, still fretting—when Christ is gently inviting you to step toward Him with the same courage Martha found?
Martha shows us that faith is not born from perfection. It grows from honesty, longing, and the willingness to meet Jesus on the road exactly as we are. The anxiety might be the fruit that needs to ripen into faith.
Smitten With Goodness 