Dealing with Shortages and Challenges

UV 977/10,000 Dealing with Shortages and Challenges And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. John 2 v 8 The manager of the marriage feast ought to have planned and obtained the quantity of wine needed for the number of guests expected or invited. The bridegroom’s and bride’s parents and families ought to have known the number of guests coming and the proportionate quantity of food and drink needed for the feast. But neither the event manager of the banquet nor the hosts seem to be prepared for the sudden shortage of wine. It would have been embarrassing if not shameful and painful for the families and the couple and it would take a long time to live down the shame. It would not be a good way to start their married life together. But Mary knew the answer lay with Jesus for she already had witnessed His power and authority over the material as well as spiritual world. Nobody else at the feast including those who were responsible had a solution for the shortage. Even the world's best leaders and most competent managers need Jesus to enable them to get a grip on the big picture of life and take the most crucial decisions. What would it profit them to just deal with profit and the shortage of money or resources and not do anything about what affects their spiritual and eternal well being. Whatever be the shortages in our lives, our marriages, our families, our workplaces and our circumstances, Jesus has the answer. There may not just be a material or monetary shortage but it could be a shortage of love, a shortage of peace or patience or understanding. In all these predicaments of life we tend to stare and are at a loss, not knowing what to do or how to proceed. The Lord is able to provide an adequate answer. The wine Jesus provided miraculously was far better than the first wine that ran out. Similarly, the answers, solutions and provision He supplies according to His riches in glory are far greater than the solutions and resources we have on hand. If there was no shortage, Mary would not have turned to Jesus. If Jesus was not present at the feast, she would not have turned to Him. If Mary had not turned to Jesus with an attitude of faith that He could resolve it, He might not have acted to fill the shortage. Similarly, we need the presence of Jesus in our lives. We need shortages, problems, challenges, deficiencies, difficulties to manifest His glory. Similarly, if we do not turn to Him and ask with expectation, the miracle might not happen and His glory will not manifest. More than any one else in our families or our network, it is Jesus who knows what we need, and it is He alone who can meet that need. He is the Lord of the banquet of life. He knows what are our sorrows and what are our shortages. Though He knows, He waits till we ask Him with expectation or faith that He alone can solve it. Jesus did not materialise the wine but He asked that six jars of stone be filled with water to the brim. Jesus did not accept instruction from even His mother Mary about what to do. This is the reason, He rebuked her saying, “ Woman, my hour has not yet come. What do I have to do with you?” Mary got the hint. Mary asked the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. She quietly slipped out of the scene having entrusted it to Him. Similarly, in our lives, He would ask us to do some natural and logical steps before He intervenes in a supernatural way. We need to do whatever He asks us to do as servants obey a master. Once we entrust a matter to Him, we can rest assured He would do the needful. The governor of the feast did not know where the new wine came from and he chided the bridegroom for reserving the better wine for the second serving when it was the norm to serve the better wine first. Similarly, the people who do not know what is the source of our blessing will begin to wonder at the blessings we receive. Jesus did this miracle at the marriage at Canna so that His glory would be manifest and his disciples would believe in Him. Similarly, when the Lord does a miracle of meeting the shortages in our lives, it is to strengthen our faith and to make us a witness of His greatness and power. He removes our shortages and fills our lives to the brim. Prateep V Philip