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When You Run Out of Wine
by Jim Buchan
“Whatever He
says to you, do it.” John 2:5 Amplified Bible (AMP)
What does it
look like to believe God’s promises, follow His instructions and see His
supernatural power on display?
A good
illustration is found in John 2:1-11, where Jesus turned water into wine during
a wedding feast in Cana.
This story
contains some powerful principles for experiencing a happy and joy-filled life.
At the wedding
venue were some stone water pots used by the Jews for purification purposes.
The water in
these pots was plain… ordinary… bland… flavorless… and completely unexciting.
But as the
story unfolded, Jesus performed a miracle – transforming this water into
sparkling, tasty, refreshingly good wine.
We all have “water”
of some kind that needs to be transformed into “wine” – and this story shows
us how that can happen when Jesus turns the ordinary things in our life into
something extraordinary.
Although water
is an essential part of life, in this story it stands for the plain, the
ordinary, and the bland.
Wine, in
contrast, has flavor and fizz.
Jesus said this kind of wine must be put into “new
wineskins,” because it needs room to expand and grow (Mark 2:22).
Running On
Empty
Soon into the wedding feast story, we learn that they “ran
out of wine” (John 2:3).
Perhaps that’s
how you’re feeling today as well.
You had money… but
it ran out.
You had love… but
now it’s gone.
You had dreams…
but somehow, they evaporated or turned into nightmares.
At such times, it’s easy to feel frustrated or disillusioned. “I
never thought it would be this way,” you moan.
That’s exactly
how the people at the wedding feast must have felt when they ran out of wine.
But the story
isn’t over yet – and your story doesn’t have to be over either.
For every
disappointment you face in life, God offers you an appointment to meet with Him
and hear His instructions for a turnaround.
No wine? No
problem! All you have to do is find out what Jesus is telling you to do.
That’s why Jesus’ mother told the servants at the wedding feast,
“Whatever He says to you, do it” (verse 5).
This profound
advice is the key to every breakthrough.
When you commit
yourself to obeying Jesus’ instructions, your life will be transformed, and
your lack will be turned into abundance.
What Do You
Need?
More often than
not, God will tell you to give Him something you HAVE (like water) in order to
get something you NEED (like wine).
Sounds fairly
simple, doesn’t it?
So, what do you
have today, and what do you need?
Like exchanging
water for wine, whatever you give the Lord will be a wonderful exchange indeed.
In fact, the
entire new covenant Jesus enacted on the cross can be described as the Great
Exchange:
Your sins for
Jesus’ righteousness… your sickness for His health… your poverty for His
wealth… your weakness for His strength… your sadness for His joy… your
weariness for His rest.
When you step into a covenant life with God, friends and loved
ones who taste the newly made “wine” in your life will probably be like
the master of the feast, who “did not know where it came from” (verse 9).
They’ll wonder
where you got such peace, joy, and zest for life, even amid difficult times.
What a great
chance to tell them about Jesus, the one who can turn their water into wine
too.
And notice that
the new wine Jesus provided wasn’t just a replica of what they had before.
Verse 10 says
He saved the BEST for LAST!
Jim Buchan is
the Director of Partner Communications at Inspiration Ministries.
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