Good Tuesday morning! Have you ever received a complaint from someone that you not only didn't know how to resolve, but also wondered what it had to do with you in the first place? More than likely all of us have had that happen at some point. Sometimes the problem brought to us is so far out of our abilities or job description that we don't even know what to say. If you were not at all familiar with Lake McConaughy, and if you're not from around these parts that is a strong possibility, and I ran up to you one month ago saying that the inflow is ten times what it was last year, you might be stopped in your tracks. Is that a bad thing? What should I do? Does that mean a dam is about to burst? Should I flee for my life? The lake is a large reservoir out here in western Nebraska and as it was down to about half of its capacity the additional inflow was easily handled this year and didn't quite fill up the lake. What could you or I have done to solve the problem had there been one? Not a thing. What if you were invited to a party and your mother came up and told you the host had run out of something important. What would you do?
The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother told him, "They have no more wine." (John 2:3)
This happened to Jesus as we can see in today's Bible verse. Our response to this crisis would probably be something like, "Oh well, I guess I'll have to drink something else." However, the problem was more serious than that. There probably wasn't another choice for a drink. In a wedding celebration today a similar problem would be running out of food while the guests were still finding their seats. The host looks out at the tables in his wedding celebration and realizes with a growing sense of dread that he is about to be embarrassed in front of dozens of hungry guests. The host leans over to a dear friend and asks her, "Can your son do something?"
We don't know if Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a dear friend of the host, but she did take the problem to her son. Was this right? Did Jesus have the responsibility for the wine supply at every wedding he was invited to? Probably not, just as you and I will not have a responsibility to solve every problem that we hear about. However, even if we don't bear the responsibility at the time of the request, we can take that responsibility and work to solve the problem. Solving problems brings a special joy to some of us. What if the problem is too big or beyond our abilities though? We can always bring it to God in prayer. Mary didn't know how to solve the problem the host had at this wedding celebration, but she did know where to take that problem.
Many problems in this life, both our own and those of other people, will be too large or complicated for us to handle on our own. Why do we have these problems? To remind us that God is a mighty provider and problem solver. You and I are not in this alone. Have you given your life to Jesus and received His salvation? Then your problems are now his problems! Bring your problems to Jesus in prayer.
Have a wonderful day in Christ!
Bucky
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