Jesus Solves Problems

Key Verse to Read and Treasure:

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, they have no wine. Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:1-5, NKJV)

For Insight:

The reception was going well. The ceremony had been beautiful. The guests were having a wonderful time. It had been a perfect day for a wedding. Only one thing went wrong. A problem arose when the wine ran out. The shortage of wine hadn’t yet reached the ears of all the guests, but as soon as Mary became aware of it she went to Jesus. He would know what to do. Mary knew running out of wine at a wedding was an embarrassment for the family hosting the festivities. People would know the host had not calculated everything wisely. Somewhere he had miscalculated the number of guests and/or the amount of wine he needed. He would be criticized and pitied. When Mary told Jesus about the wine he asked her why she was coming to him with this problem. Mary didn’t respond she simply turned to the servants and told them to do whatever Jesus instructed.

Jesus had a simple approach to solving the problem of the wine shortage. Whereas the shortage of wine would have caused the host a great deal of distress Jesus knew exactly what to do. He used his power to work miracles and take care of the wine shortage without any effort. It was as simple as instructing the servants to refill the waterpots with fresh water.    

Jesus taught his followers: in this world we will have troubles (problems) but we should take heart (believe and trust) that Jesus has power to overcome the troubles (problems) of the world.     

Problems are different from sins. Sins are offenses against God and people by breaking God’s commands; by going against what God has said or told us to do or not to do. Problems arise from external factors. Problems are things like mistakes, annoyances, or external complications needing to be solved. Problems can be defined as a matter or situations regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome. Something like a situation, question or thing that causes difficulty, stress, or doubt. Something that requires a solution. The shortage of wine for the host fell into the category of a problem and not a sin.  

Problems aren’t sins but the way we solve them can lead to sin. Because we become anxious, fearful, and fret we can end up taking an unbiblical approach to solve our problem and end up sinning in the process. Mary did what we all should do when problems arise: she went directly to Jesus. When we have a problem whether it is simple or complex Jesus should be our first go-to because as he said, he has already overcome the problem we are having (John 16:33).

Mary didn’t try to explain the problem, she didn’t try to present it in a more spiritual fashion she was just straightforward and left it to Jesus to fix. Our problems don’t have to be spiritual in nature for Jesus to solve them. When Jesus said we should “take heart” he had overcome our problems he didn’t say they needed to fit a certain criterion, he said problems, period. Jesus already knows we live in this world, and we’ll have problems that arise just because we live on earth and are flesh.

God gives us wisdom to deal with our problems. And the first use of our wisdom should be turning to him when problems arise. Help to solve our problems is one of the wonderful benefits of an intimate relationship and abiding life in Christ. One of Christ’s purposes is to help us when we face difficulties. When we give Jesus our problems he gives his peace to us. The more we take our problems to him, present them to him honestly just as Mary did, the more we see how he takes our problems on himself, trades our heavy yoke of worry and gives us his lighter yoke of faith and peace.

As we see Jesus solve our problems our faith in his ability and willingness to solve our problems increase and we are encouraged to turn to him each time a problem arises instead of trying to work it out on our own which can lead to sin because we are trying to be our own god. As we seek the Lord’s help in problem-solving, we discover the Bible holds solutions directly or in principle for every problem of life. God will not forsake us when problems arise. He will not turn his back, he will not say “work it out on your own,” but he will help, direct, and lead us in the way to go.

Just like the servants at the wedding, if we do as Jesus instructs when problems arise, our problems will be solved, and we’ll enjoy peace of mind and experience joy in living.

Jesus, I believe you can solve every problem that arises in my life. May I do just as your Mother Mary did and turn quickly to you because you’ll know exactly what to do. Amen

Ask Yourself

Am I turning to Jesus first thing when problems arise in my life or do I try to work them out on my own (first)?

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