LEARNING DAILY

John 2:5, His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

The weekend message at Community Bible Church dealt with the wedding feast at Cana of Galilee. You know the story about Jesus and His disciples going to a wedding and the embarrassing situation about running out of wine. The mother of Jesus tells Jesus the situation and He asks her why that is a problem for Him. Pastor pointed out that Mary did not answer Him. She did not tell Him what He should do, did not tell Him He should make some more wine. She simply turned from Him and told the servants to do whatever He said to do.

I do not know about you, but I have tried more than once to tell the Lord the best way to do something and ways I believed I could really be used to help Him advance His kingdom. In fact, I spent years planning and helping Him figure out how I could best be used. I even had included family and friends in the planning. It took some difficult measures to figure out I had gotten way off track. It is pretty clear to me now that it is not my place to tell God anything about using me or anyone else; it is not my place to tell Him how He needs to further His kingdom.

His mother did not try to do this either. She just told the servants to listen to Jesus and then do what He told them to do. That is really good teaching and a great idea for each of us. Spend more time listening instead of talking and suggesting what Jesus should do in our lives. What should we do when we do not know what to do? Pastor asked that question in his message. He mentioned the advice that the world often gives when people say, “Just follow your heart”. No, no, that is wrong because the Bible tells us the heart often leads us in the wrong direction. Jeremiah 17:9 speaks of the heart as “deceiving”. It is fallen and corrupt; it is deadly and leads us the way of the world. The heart calls evil good and good evil. Following the heart will lead one into sin; do not follow your heart!  The answer Pastor gave us was to open your Bible, read it, and do what it says.

“Whatever He says to you, do it.” Is this not the key to living a successful Christian life? Do you want peace in your life? Do what He says! Do you want to stay on a narrow way into eternal life in God’s kingdom? Do what He says! Do you want great fellowship with Jesus? Do what He says! Do you want peace in your life? Do what He says! Mary knew the promises she had heard when the angel told her she would conceive. She knew that there are times Jesus was the only One who could solve problems. She went to Jesus to tell Him the problem and then allowed Him to deal with it in His way, through His methods and in His timing.

I want to go back to opening your Bible and reading it. The Bible is God’s Word. He is “speaking” to each of us when we read it. It is His inspired Word, is profitable for knowing doctrine, for correcting our behavior and our thoughts, and instructing us on right living (2 Timothy 3:16). It teaches how to walk the narrow way and live for Jesus. It is so important for each of us to do whatever He tells us to do! Each day, each Believer chooses whether he/she will be obedient to how the Bible instructs us to live.

God has a plan for each of us and He always leads us to in a direction He desires, one that is always best for us. No, we might not always like it or understand the reasoning behind His leading because more than likely it is contrary to everything the world teaches. But being obedient to Him will never lead us astray. Because of the obedience of the servants, everyone at the wedding feast benefitted. The best wine was served, and all were happy with those who planned the event. And because the servants did whatever Jesus told them, Jesus was glorified! That tells me that when you or I do whatever He says, Jesus will be glorified then as well.

I encourage you to do as the servants did. They glorified our Lord through their obedience and others benefited as a result. Who will you be able to reach for the kingdom of God because you did whatever He tells you to do?