It was a simple directive that was given by Mary, the mother of Jesus; short and to the point. She was attending a wedding in Cana with Jesus and some of His disciples. The host ran out of wine which created a bit of a desperate situation for them. Mary was made aware, then got Jesus involved who was a bit hesitant at first to do anything. But it was time.

So Mary said to the servants: “Whatever He says to you, do it!” (John 2:5) 

There’s just not a lot of wiggle-room in that command to try and over analyze it in order to find other meaning. Just do...whatever He tells you to do. Don’t overthink it, don’t question it, don’t dig in to commentaries to try and refute it. In the words of the well-known Nike slogan: Just. Do. It.

So Jesus turned and saw those six water-pots of stone sitting there and His directive to the servants took even less words than what His mother uttered: “Fill the waterpots with water.” (7)

It was not complicated nor overly involved with a lot of fanfare and noise. “Fill’em up”, He told them. So they did. Given this was the first miracle we have recorded that Jesus did, we should not be too quick to read past and miss those little details that offer helpful insight.

Aren’t we guilty at times of being in a desperate need, crying out to God, and His response is short, simple, and to the point; but we want the whole plan laid out for us so we can see the big picture before we start to obey? God does not always work the way we think He ‘should’. Rarely does He fit our plans and expectations if we are being honest with ourselves.

So the servants filled the water-pots as told. (You can only imagine the silent thoughts they were having or even discussing among themselves at this point...probably wondering where they would find a new job after the wedding was over)

Then Jesus told them to “draw some out and take it to the master of the feast”. 

So they did. And you probably know the rest of the story.

You do realize God could be very complex and complicated if He chose to be this way, but for our sakes, He usually likes to keep it simple. Just do what He says.

On multiple occasions, when standing before lame people who were unable to ‘walk the way they were created to walk’, we read where Jesus’s command was again, short and to the point: “Take up your bed and walk.” No fanfare, no hype, no physical therapy with braces and contraptions to begin the long, drawn out healing process. Just: “take up your bed and walk”.

How many times over the years have we asked God to be more involved in our daily lives, to lead and guide us...to make His will known to us and direct our steps? We quote that passage all the time about ‘acknowledge Him in all our ways and He will direct our steps’. (Prov. 3:5-6)

So then the Holy Spirit whispers something ever so softly into our ears/spirit, and we unknowingly dismiss it as just a random thought. Sixty minutes ago, you were at your church altar weeping tears in desperate prayer needing direction and begging God for guidance. Then you got home and after changing and eating, you sat down to watch that game or movie or read the paper and there was that still, small quiet voice that said: “Why not turn that TV off and go spend some time in My word.”

And you told yourself...”I’ll do that later.” Maybe there was a garage or closet that needed cleaning out and you had ‘other stuff to do’ that now seemed more pressing. (Matt. 22:3-5)

“I went to church this morning...I ‘gave the Lord’ the last three hours of my busy life”, you reminded yourself. “I’ll read before I go to bed”, you offer up as comprise.

Or maybe you’ve been at odds with your spouse or kids of late. Lots of snipping and snapping at each other that usually leads to escalating conflict and loud words where someone is left in tears or fuming. You are miserable inside and are begging God for deliverance and change. So on the way home, they mouth off in typical fashion and it pushes your button and you want to ‘set the record straight and respond (nice word for retaliate). And you have the ‘perfect comeback’ just ready to launch off your lips and tongue. In that moment, the Holy Spirit says “Hush...dismiss that thought and die to pride...that spirit that insists you get the last word in and prove you are right once again.”

But you don’t want to ‘die to that’. In fact, you are ready to ‘double-down’ and are fed up with the same old battle that resurfaces regularly. So you resist that simple quiet directive because you feel better to ‘get this off your chest and let it be known how you feel. And once again you are back in the same old ditch of despair and defeat. What’s the point in even trying anymore...your relationship is on the rocks...everyone would be better without you...just throw in the towel and rid yourself of this heartache. Something better is out there for you anyway.

Has it ever occurred to you that what you are contending with here is not...’hormones, teenage attitudes, and stubborn spouses’? Paul reminds us it is not ‘flesh and blood we contend with’ but rather ‘spiritual forces of darkness and wickedness in the heavenlies’. (Eph. 6:12). And it’s a ‘war’ we find ourselves in where we’ve been given ‘weapons’ to utilize according to 2 Cor. 10:3.

A war, I might remind you, that you are incapable of winning on your own. Verse 5 in that same passage there talks of how we are to ‘cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

And guess who is right there trying to point these truths out to you before everything blows up in your face?

But no...you are right and want to make it known how right you are and are unwilling to forgive all those other times you were rebuffed and ignored and spoken rudely to and you are not backing down. Pride...is digging its heels further in to your soul.

Would you stop right here and go read Philippians 2:5-8 and then 1 Peter 2:15-23.

Now are we not told to ‘think it not strange concerning these fiery trials we encounter’ there in 1 Pet.4:12? Is there not some ‘suffering in the flesh’ when we put it to death so that we can be about living for the will of God ? (1 Peter 4:1-2). Did James not instruct us to ‘count it all joy’ when we experience these ‘testing's and trials’ knowing that God is perfecting us that we might be ‘perfect and complete’? (James 1:2-4). Have we not read where Paul said the true ‘children of God are being led by the Spirit which is how we put to death the deeds of this old flesh nature’? (Rom. 8:13-14)

Oh...so now all of a sudden you are not so sure you want to be ‘led by the Spirit’ if it involves ‘suffering and dying’?

I get it. That’s why Jesus said not many would choose to walk this narrow path that leads to life as He actually said ‘few’ would find it. (Matt. 7:14) You say you didn’t sign on for this, right? I mean, we are human after all and we are always going to battle with this old nature and have bad days were we ‘show out’ and ‘act like the devil’.

Grace has your back, right? So just focus on that song you were asked to sing next Sunday at church and make it sound good so people will be able to see how God is ‘using you for His glory’.

I hate to bring this up again (not really) but is it possible that somewhere along the way, we ended up subscribing to ‘another gospel, received another spirit, and ended up following another Jesus’ as Paul warned about in 2 Cor. 11:2-4 where no cross is involved and you don’t have to ‘die to self’? Seems to me that Peter tried telling that to Jesus one time and was sternly rebuked as Jesus saw right through that and told Satan to beat it. (Matt. 16:22-23)

So what does it mean to really be ‘led by the Spirit’ as Paul makes it clear that this is what the true ‘children of God’ do? (Rom. 8:14). Being ‘led by the Spirit’ means you are abiding in Him, walking with Him and obeying Him as in ‘doing whatever He says to you’. (Luke 6:46; Heb. 5:9) This is the how true transformation takes place. It’s not because some big time preacher laid hands on you as you shake, quiver, cry and roll and now you are a ‘new creation’.

In the same way the servants at that wedding witnessed a true, genuine miracle of transformation with the water being changed to wine, so we too...can become transformed by the power of God’s grace...but you have a small role to play in this as well. You have to do what He says. You have to die to self.

You have to decrease...so that He might increase...In You! (John 3:30). And IF...you are abiding in Him, you will no longer continue to sin (1 John 3:6,9; 5:18)

Not everyone who ‘says...Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the Father in heaven’....so said Jesus. (Matt. 7:21)

He’s willing to make His will known to you. But are you willing to...’just do it’?