March 22 I Thursday

Joshua 10-12

Luke 1:39-56

“His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’”   —John 2:5

Mary knew who her son was, so she said to the servants catering the wedding, “Do whatever He tells you.” This is the basis of our cooperation with the Lord Jesus Christ. When He gives instructions, we are to act. We must be careful not to reverse this. The instruction is not, “Whatever we would like God to do, tell Him,” but, “Whatever He says, do it.”

Doing whatever Jesus tells us will require faith. When asked to provide wine, Jesus instructed the servants to fill the jars with water. The servants could easily have replied, “Excuse me, Jesus, but we need wine, not water.” However confused they may have been, they simply obeyed, no questions asked. Every act of God is precipitated by an act of obedience on our part. This does not mean God is limited by our obedience, as if His power is only unlocked when we obey Him, but that He chooses to wait for us to act on His instructions, however unconventional they seem.

The point of obedience is to leave the situation in God’s control. It is saying, “Though I don’t understand how this will solve the problem, I trust that God knows what He’s doing.” Stepping out in faith takes courage. The servants were probably quite nervous carrying those jars to the master of the banquet, but their faith in Christ was confirmed when the first cup drew out wine.

Some of us may think we have to produce the miraculous, but it is not our responsibility to turn water into wine. We do not have to part seas, heal the sick or raise the dead. As Christians, our responsibility is to trust and obey and leave the consequences to Jesus. This takes the pressure off us! Where there is obedience to God’s instructions, there is dependence on Him to accomplish what seems impossible to us.

Author and evangelist Stephen Olford has said, “God won’t teach you anything new until your obedience to Him is up to date.” Until then, all we have is water. Essential to the Christian life is our obedience to Christ and our trust in Him. One cannot operate without the other. If our obedience is fairly casual, half-hearted or even conditional, we will inhibit the work of Christ in our lives. We need to fill the jugs to the brim and trust what Jesus will do. We may be apprehensive and fearful of what others will think, but when we step out in faith and obedience, God looks after the rest. Our obedience to Him and trust in Him will always generate results and bolster our faith in the process!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for the reassurance of You working through me. Grant me the discipline to obey and the courage to step out in faith in whatever You call me to do.  Thank You, Lord.