One Thing is Needful

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart;
Proverbs 4:20–21

ONE THING IS NEEDFUL

George Müller, who lived in the 1800s, cared for about 10,000 orphans in total in his five large orphanages. But he never allowed his huge responsibility to take him away from the Word of God. He said that every day, he would set aside time to study the scriptures until his inner man was happy in the Lord.

Once, Müller met a man who worked between 14 and 16 hours every day. He told the man, “You are destroying your health. You don’t have time for your family and, most importantly, you don’t have time to nourish your inner man with the Word of God.”

The man replied, “I hear you, but I can’t see how I can cut down my working hours and spend time in the Word because even with the 14 to 16 hours I put in each day, I still can’t put enough bread on the table for my family.”

As the man walked away, Müller said, “He doesn’t believe that if he gives time to God’s Word first, God will take care of all his needs.”

Likewise, do you really believe that every day, only one thing is needful? Even if the bills don’t get paid, the children are not making any headway in their studies and the office work is not completed, all these things can wait. Only one thing is needful—that you spend time in the Word of God.

When Martha complained to Jesus that her sister Mary had left her to serve alone (Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and hearing His Word), Jesus defended Mary by saying, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41–42).

My friend, you will not lose out when you take the time to sit down and listen to God’s Word. Even your health and well-being will be blessed (see Proverbs 4:22). So take time today to meditate on His Word. It will make your way prosperous (see Joshua 1:8–9), and give you divine health and good success!

– Pastor Joseph Prince

Incidentally, today is mum’s birthday.