God's Release

When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine." "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside.
John 2: 3-9

I love this story because it gives me a picture of a Jesus with "skin on."

Jesus is out at a wedding with his mother and we would assume many other friends. Here is a snapshot from the family phot album of the real Jesus, a real man, gathering together with family and friends after likely having walked to the village of Cana, where Nathaniel lived, nearby his home in Nazareth.

He is standing around after the wedding just enjoying conversation, laughing, talking and enjoying the friendship and community, when the normal flow of the day takes a supernatural turn.

The thing that strikes me most as the story unfolds in real time is Jesus' sensitivity and obedience to moving, only when the Father told Him to move and act and not before.

"Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."

John 5:19

Here in Cana as the day unfolds, Mary, Jesus mother, prods Him to do a miracle and to act. He gently reproves her and says, "my time is not yet come."

The lesson and encouragement to me in this story is that when you are waiting upon God or sense you are in the desert with no permission to move, it is right and appropriate to sit still. We must not move until God tells us to move.

The other encouraging part of this story for me is that, sometimes in the desert, you feel....when....when when will God break the silence and release me to move and to do things for Him. Will it ever happen again.

The answer is that the release can come at anytime. In one moment when Jesus mother pushed Him to act He said, "NO....I do not have release....it is not my time" But, after an undisclosed time, likely not too long after His Mother's prodding, He obviously felt confident of His release from God to act.

So take courage and rest dear saint that is in a time of waiting. You are not lazy and irresponsible when the activist culture of doers around you says get up and do something. You must not move until the Father tells you to move and you sense release.

But also be encouraged and listen for the wisper of God's permission. Your release may be closer that it feels. It could be any minute!