Pray Network Forum

I hope you are doing well today. But if not, there’s a good chance you’ve found someone else to blame for your malaise. 

You know what I mean. You’re in a bad mood, so you blame it on the lack of affection you’re receiving from your spouse. Your bank account is empty, and you’re convinced it’s because your employer is too stingy to pay you enough. Your spiritual life is bone dry, so you claim it’s the result of your pastor’s uninspiring preaching. You don’t like your situation in life, and you say you’re waiting on God to fix it someday.

But perhaps you’re looking in the wrong direction for your spiritual, emotional, or financial revival. The person to blame may be a lot closer than you think…

One day the prophet Isaiah cried out to God in despair: “There is no one who calls on Your name, who arouses himself to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities” (Isaiah 64:7). Isaiah’s observation holds a vital key for whatever breakthrough we seek in our lives today: We must “arouse ourselves” to take hold of the Lord!

While the Bible also commands us to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24 ESV), this is not ordinarily where a spiritual awakening begins. You see, it’s not primarily the responsibility of other people—your spouse, your friends, your employer, or your pastor—to rouse you from your lethargy. Even God Himself won’t bring you to a place of renewal and restoration until you rouse yourself to take hold of Him.

Make no mistake about it: Rousing yourself isn’t a one-time proposition but something you must do on a regular basis. Paul told Timothy to “kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6). Other translations say we must “stir up” or “fan into flame” the gifts and callings of God in our lives. 

Before the day is over, I encourage you to spend some time with the Lord to arouse yourself and take hold of Him in a fresh way. And once that happens, you’ll be in a position to also stir up others to a renewed passion for their calling in God. There’s no need to wait for someone else!

I’ve recently been captivated by the story of Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). I’ve concluded that we all have “water” of some kind that needs to be transformed into wine.

Water is an essential, elemental part of life. But in this story it also 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 is needs room to expand and grow.

Take a second and ponder what boring, bland parts of your life may be due for a transformation like this. Your job? Your ministry? Your marriage? Your relationship with the Lord?

The good news is that Jesus can turn ordinary things into something extraordinary. If you’ve lost your fizz in some area of your life, He can help you get it back. And if you’ve been stagnating instead of expanding and growing, your turnaround can be closer than you think.

But transformation comes with a price. Jesus’ mother told the servants at the wedding feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (v. 5). I guarantee that if you follow this profound advice, your water will surely be turned into wine.

But it’s a pretty radical statement, isn’t it? Are you willing to do WHATEVER He tells you to do? Think about it. That’s the price of transforming your circumstances and your life.

The wedding feast “ran out of wine” (v. 2), and perhaps that’s how you’re feeling today as well. You had money…but it ran out. You had love…but now it seems to be 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…or at least it doesn’t have to be.

No wine? No problem! All you have to do is find out what Jesus is telling you to do. More often than not, He 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, I promise you it will be a great exchange indeed.

Those who taste the newly made “wine” in your life may well 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.

If you’re a Baby Boomer like me, you may have been tempted to feel that life has passed you by and your best years are now behind you. But this story ends with some additional good news. Jesus didn’t just replace the old wine with something new: He saved the BEST for LAST! (v. 10) He can do the same for you, when you do what He says and give Him what you have.