When You Run Out of Wine

What does it look like to believe God’s promises, follow His instructions and see His supernatural power on display? A good illustration is found in John 2:1-11, where Jesus turned water into wine during a wedding feast in Cana. This story contains some powerful principles for experiencing a happy and joy-filled life.

At the wedding venue were some stone water pots used by the Jews for purification purposes. The water in these pots was plain… ordinary…bland…flavorless…and completely unexciting. But as the story unfolded, Jesus performed a miracle – transforming this water into sparkling, tasty, refreshingly good wine.

We all have “water” of some kind that needs to be transformed into “wine” – and this story shows us how that can happen when Jesus turns the ordinary things in our life into something extraordinary.

Although water is an essential part of life, in this story it stands for the plain, the ordinary, and the bland. Wine, in contrast, has flavor and fizz. Jesus said this kind of wine must be put into “new wineskins,” because it needs room to expand and grow (Mark 2:22).

Running On Empty

Soon into the wedding feast story, we learn that they “ran out of wine” (John 2:3). Perhaps that’s how you’re feeling today as well. You had money…but it ran out. You had love…but now it’s gone. You had dreams…but somehow they evaporated or turned into nightmares.

At such times, it’s easy to feel frustrated or disillusioned. “I never thought it would be this way,” you moan. That’s exactly how the people at the wedding feast must have felt when they ran out of wine.

But the story isn’t over yet – and your story doesn’t have to be over either. For every disappointment you face in life, God offers you an appointment to meet with Him and hear His instructions for a turnaround.

No wine? No problem! All you have to do is find out what Jesus is telling you to do. That’s why Jesus’ mother told the servants at the wedding feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (v. 5). This profound advice is the key to every breakthrough. When you commit yourself to obeying Jesus’ instructions, your life will be transformed, and your lack will be turned into abundance.

What Do You Need?

More often than not, God will tell you to give Him something you HAVE (like water) in order to get something you NEED (like wine). Sounds fairly simple, doesn’t it?

So what do you have today, and what do you need? Like exchanging water for wine, whatever you give the Lord will be a wonderful exchange indeed. In fact, the entire new covenant Jesus enacted on the cross can be described as the Great Exchange:

Your sins for Jesus’  righteousness…your sickness for His health…your poverty for His wealth…your weakness for His strength…your sadness for His joy…your weariness for His rest.

When you step into a covenant life with God, friends and loved ones who taste the newly made “wine” in your life will probably be like the master of the feast, who “did not know where it came from” (v. 9). They’ll wonder where you got such peace, joy, and zest for life, even amid difficult times. What a great chance to tell them about Jesus, the one who can turn their water into wine too.

And notice that the new wine Jesus provided wasn’t just a replica of what they had before. Verse 10 says He saved the BEST for LAST!