When You Are Running Low
“When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, ‘They don’t have any wine.’” — John 2:3 CSB
We all have people in our lives that we turn to when things don’t go according to plan. We know that person can provide guidance, wisdom, encouragement, or simply help us find a solution. For me, growing up, that person was my dad. He always seemed to have an answer, especially when it came to medical questions, since that was his field. When something hurt or didn’t feel right, I knew I could turn to him. He would either have an answer or point me in the right direction to find one.
In John’s Gospel, we are introduced to an event that took place in Cana of Galilee. Jesus had been invited to a wedding, and we don’t know exactly how the wedding party was connected to Jesus. However, from John’s account, we can tell that Jesus’s mother, Mary, was aware of a difficult situation that had arisen: the wine was gone. The host had either failed to plan accordingly or simply didn’t have the resources to accommodate all of the guests. Whatever the reason, they had run out of wine. In Jesus’s day, wine was an important part of a wedding celebration and was associated with joy and gladness. Running out of wine would have been a deeply embarrassing situation for the host and family.
What strikes me about this account is that Mary saw the situation and immediately knew where to turn. She understood the embarrassment this family would experience, and she knew who could help. We can speculate about why Mary had such confidence in Jesus, she had no doubt seen Him perform amazing miracles before at home. John doesn’t tell us, but what we do know is that Mary had no hesitation. She simply turned to her Son and said, “They don’t have any wine.”
I absolutely love the interaction between Jesus and His mother. Jesus essentially tells her that this is not their responsibility and that His hour had not yet come—the time for Him to be publicly revealed as the Messiah had not yet arrived. Doing what she was hinting at to Him would have brought attention to Him that He wasn’t ready to reveal.
Mary didn’t argue with Him. She didn’t protest. Instead, she simply turned to the servants and said, “Do whatever he tells you.” I can almost imagine Mary walking away with a slight grin, and complete confidence that her son would take care of it. She didn’t know what He was going to do, but she knew who He was. That little detail in John’s account speaks to me. When issues arise in my life, I need to be like Mary and turn to Jesus. It is in Jesus that our deepest needs are ultimately met. Whether we need provision, wisdom, forgiveness, direction, encouragement, or strength He is sufficient for all of it. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:33).
Maybe you feel like you’ve run out of something today. Maybe you’ve run out of strength. Maybe you’ve run out of joy. Maybe you don’t know how you’re going to make it through the situation in front of you. Mary’s example reminds us of something profound: when the need appears, turn to Jesus. He knows what we need. He knows what we’re facing. And He is more than able to meet us in the middle of it. So whatever you may be lacking today, don’t look everywhere else first. Do what Mary did. Turn to Jesus.
Agape,
Frank
