Few emotions are as quietly painful as the feeling of being unseen. It doesn’t always come with dramatic rejection or outright neglect. Often, it shows up in subtle ways—when your effort goes unnoticed, your faithfulness feels overlooked, or your sacrifices seem invisible to the people you serve the most. You can be surrounded by others and still feel alone in your contribution. Scripture reminds us that this feeling is not new—and that God sees far more than we realize.
One of the most relatable biblical figures who embodies this struggle is Martha.
In Luke 10:38–42, we find Martha busy preparing her home to host Jesus. While her sister Mary sits at His feet, listening to His teaching, Martha is working hard in the background. Eventually, her frustration boils over:
That question—“Don’t you care?”—reveals the heart of feeling unseen. Martha wasn’t lazy or faithless. She was devoted. She was serving. But she felt unnoticed, unsupported, and unappreciated.
Jesus’ response is gentle yet revealing: This moment is often interpreted as a contrast between work and worship, but there’s a deeper emotional layer. Martha wasn’t just busy—she was overwhelmed and unseen. She equated her worth with her service, and when that service went unacknowledged, it stirred resentment.
Feeling unseen often comes from tying our value to what we do rather than who we are. When our efforts become our identity, we expect recognition as proof that we matter. Martha wasn’t wrong for serving—but she was hurting because her service became the measure of her worth.
Yet Martha’s story doesn’t end there.
In John 11, when her brother Lazarus dies, Martha once again steps forward—not with busyness, but with honesty. She tells Jesus plainly, this time, Jesus doesn’t correct her. He meets her grief with truth and compassion.
Here, we see a fuller picture of Martha. She is a woman of deep faith, courage, and vulnerability. Jesus engages her in one of the most profound theological conversations in the Gospels. This matters because it reminds us that even when we feel unseen, we are not unknown to God.
Scripture repeatedly affirms that God sees what others miss:
In Psalm 33:18 it says, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love.”
This verse reminds us that God’s attention is intentional. Even when human eyes fail to notice our diligence, our faith, or our integrity- God is watching and caring for us.
Martha’s service, though unnoticed by Mary in that moment, was fully seen by God and so are you.
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