Risk?

Faith is risking the situation on God. No, I didn’t write that, but I try to live it. It means ceding control to our Higher Power. It means asking for help and then listening. It means acknowledging the limits of our own capacity to change our lives. It requires humility. It requires trust. The risk/reward maxim is embedded in our secular culture; that anything worth having requires taking a chance. The sweeter the prize, the further out on the edge you have to venture. No pain no gain. Saying hello to a stranger on an isolated hiking trail could turn out badly for a young woman, as my niece tells it, or it could turn into kindred spirits finding each other and forming a lifelong friendship.  You can find it put simply and elegantly in five words on many a bumper sticker: Let go and let God. No, I didn’t write that one either. It means turning the problem over to God (in prayer) and allowing Him to work in your life.

Below is a recounting of Jesus’s first miracle: Changing Water to Wine. It’s an apt analogy for how our lives can be transformed through faith: water to wine. As you read it, what stands out? Two things resonate for me. First, Jesus balks initially, saying it’s not time yet to begin his messianic mission. Transitions are fraught with uncertainty, even for a savior. He hesitates but only for a moment. The other is Mary’s simple response, referring to Jesus: “Do whatever he tells you.” Pretty good advice, right?

Here's the Scripture: John 2: Jesus Changes Water to Wine
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

The sweetest rewards in life often flow from changing things up, taking a chance, pulling the wheels out of the ditch to gain some new traction. That’s how we fall in love or transition to a better job. Or find our faith. If you’re grappling with a problem, turn it over to God. Have faith. Trust. Risk the situation on Him. The song pairing is “Water to Wine.”

Until next time, stay safe, be brave and keep walking in the light.  

Water to Wine
Now way back down in Galilee
a man was walking around just like you and me
and He preached some words and He broke some bread
and truer words have never been said

Now I’m standing here and I’m doing fine
He took my life, turned water into wine

From then ’till now we have found
there is never enough to go around
but in this world you will surely find
that He’s taking water and turning it into wine

Now I’m standing here and I’m doing fine
He took my life, turned water into wine