What Is God Telling You to Do?

On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  –John 2:1-5

The first miracle we know Jesus performed is one of the Bible’s most incredible stories. To set the scene, Jesus and His mother, along with his disciples, are at a wedding in the town of Cana. Wedding celebrations in the time of Jesus were not just for an hour or two, but were at least all-day events, and sometimes went on for several days. The parents would spend their life savings putting on the wedding and feeding all the guests. Of course, it was important to have plenty of food and wine for everyone. It was a known fact that most celebrations would start out with the better wine, and when that was gone, they would serve a cheaper wine.

At this particular wedding, Jesus’ mother, Mary, overhears the wine steward say the words the parents never wanted to hear: “We have no more wine.” Mary moves over to talk with Jesus to tell Him the problem, and basically Jesus refuses His mother’s request by saying, “My time has not yet come” (in other words, no miracles yet). For some reason we imagine Mary having that motherly all-knowing smile (almost a smirk), and then she walks over to the servants and, pointing to her son, says, “Do whatever He tells you.” It was probably an awkward moment for all involved, but Jesus relented and whispered to the servants to begin to pour water into the wine barrels. Our guess is that the servants thought Jesus was crazy, but for some unknown reason, they followed His instructions. As the water is poured into the barrels, we read in the Gospels that it immediately became the most wonderful and finest of wines. In fact, the Bible says that the master of the banquet tasted the water turned to wine and praised the bridegroom for saving the best wine for last.

When we read this great story in Scripture, it’s easy to miss the most important words: “Do whatever he tells you.” Five words the servant obeyed that changed the outcome of the wedding. These same words can have a life-changing outcome for our lives as well. Do what He tells you to do. What if you lived your life and your marriage based on those words?