Pray Network Forum

Your breakthrough is probably a lot closer than you think. Whether you need a miracle in your health, finances, relationships, or peace of mind, it’s possible that the answer is just a few steps away.

But I can understand if you are skeptical. You may have been waiting a long time already.

Abraham and Sarah had waited many years for a son, and you can understand why they would laugh upon hearing God’s prediction that their breakthrough was finally less than a year away (Genesis 17:15-17, Genesis 18:9-15). Yet their baby boy came just as the Lord promised, and they named him Isaac, which meant “Laughter” (Genesis 21:1-7).

If you laughed when I said your breakthrough was probably close at hand, you may want to call your eventual breakthrough Laughter, as Abraham and Sarah did. Of course, God always has the last laugh (Psalm 2:4), but I think Laughter is a wonderful name to call the breakthroughs He gives us.

Often it seems that our breakthrough is far away or simply impossible. The four lepers who sat glumly at the city gate certainly didn’t feel like they were on the brink of any breakthrough. The city was surrounded by an enemy army, and its inhabitants were gripped with famine, starvation, and hopelessness. But within a single day, the lives of these men were profoundly transformed (2 Kings 7:3-11).

Jesus’ disciples had fished all night and caught absolutely nothing, and their prospects looked anything but bright. Yet everything changed when they obeyed His surprising advice: “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat!” (John 21:6)

Doesn’t this seem like a pointless instruction? If there were no fish on the left side of their small boat, why would it make any difference if they tried the right-hand side?

But the disciples were closer to a breakthrough than they could have imagined. They took Jesus’ advice, and that made all the difference. Within moments, they had caught 153 large fish.

How long will it take for YOUR breakthrough? Isaac was born within a year of God’s prediction to Abraham and Sarah. The lepers received their windfall of treasure within 24 hours of their step of faith. And the disciples received a miracle catch of fish within mere moments of obeying Jesus’ instruction. A breakthrough doesn’t have to take very long at all.

So here are two questions for you to ask: What do you need from the Lord? And what is He asking you to do?

After you have followed His instructions, your long-awaited answer can come with remarkable speed. Laugh if you want, but it’s true.

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.