John 2:1-12

Jesus once attended a wedding where a catering crisis threatened the reputation of a couple of newlyweds. In the middle of the party, the wine ran out. Someone had not done their math right.

Taking measures to help the couple save face, Mary, the mother of Jesus, turns to her son and insists he do something. She says to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you (John 2:5).”

Are you going through a tough time right now, perhaps something worse than running out of wine? Is your marriage on the rocks? Are you being socially ridiculed? Did you do something wrong, like mess up the math for an important celebration? Whatever it is, whether you are the one at fault or the victim, ask Jesus for what you need and then trust him.

Do not ask him expecting a great miracle every time. Jesus passed by plenty of sick people during his travels without healing them. There might even have been other weddings that ran out of wine in which he did not intervene. Yet, every time Jesus did something miraculous, it showed the world that he can be trusted to act or not act on any given problem according to his infinitely higher knowledge, on the basis of who he is.

John Calvin once said, “…if we desire anything from Christ we shall not obtain our prayers unless we depend entirely on him, look to him, and in short, do whatever he tells us.” Mary said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” We can pray the same: “Lord, you know this problem even better than I do. I will do whatever you tell me and leave the rest up to you.”

As the Apostle Peter said, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:6–7).”

When the wine of life runs dry, ask Jesus for what you need and trust him with your problem.