Grace Fellowship - Word-Wise

Word-Wise

By Diane Hagni

DO YOU WANT TO SEE MORE MIRACLES?

If we would develop the attitude of a servant, we would see more miracles in our lives.

That’s because there is a God-ward side and a man-ward side to most every miracle that happens. The part God does is the impossible; the part we do is possible, although what we are asked to do seldom makes sense to our natural minds.

Take, for example, the first miracle Jesus did: turning water into wine at the marriage in Cana (John 2:1-12). Some would say this was an unnecessary miracle. True, it would be disgraceful to run out of wine at such a festive occasion and in a place and time when hospitality were all important, and yet it was not a life-threatening occasion calling for miraculous intervention.

Apparently, Jesus thought otherwise. God must have enough miracle-working power that He doesn’t have to reserve it only for life-threatening occasions!

The mother of Jesus, who must have somehow been related to the family in this story, asks Jesus for help. We are not sure if she expected him to do a miracle, or if she was simply looking to him as the oldest male in her family to take charge of the situation.

Regardless of which it was, she made an important statement to the servants standing nearby: “Whatever He says to you, do it (v. 5, my emphasis).”

Good advice for all of us to follow, especially if we want to see miracles in our lives.

Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” These were 20- to 30-gallon stone waterpots used for purification. Filling them with water was something a servant was used to doing. Jesus wasn’t asking anything out of the ordinary.

But once they were filled – “Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast (v. 8).” That was the ridiculous part! How would you have felt? Would you have balked at the suggestion, ridiculed Jesus, argued with Him, or flatly refused to obey? What would the master of the feast think if you carried a ladle of plain, tasteless, everyday water to him to taste? What kind of silly hoax was this anyway?

The servants, however, had no choice. It was obey or fear reprisal. No matter how foolish the command sounded, it was their job to carry it out, not figure it out. How much better off we would all be if we simply followed Jesus’ commands, no matter how ridiculous they sound to our rational minds. The one with the attitude of a servant is the one who will see miracles.

What Jesus asked of the servants required effort and obedience; but it was something well within the realm of their ability to accomplish. They did not have to supply any miracle-working power – only obedience. God did the hard part!

Sometimes faith is simply obeying God, even when our head is telling us how ridiculous we look. You don’t always have to be a “faith giant” to see a miracle. Instead, “whatever He tells you to do, do it.”

So the servants carried out the command, and the master of the feast was astounded. “You have saved the best wine for last!” he exclaimed. Somewhere between dipping the ladle into the water pot and the liquid touching the man’s lips, water was changed into excellent wine, and there was plenty of it for the rest of the wedding feast. Jesus’ first miracle was accomplished by means of lowly servants who instantly obeyed Him.

Will we risk looking ridiculous to obey God and get our miracle?

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