When the wine ran out, Jesus’s mother told him, “They don’t have any wine.” “What has this concern of yours to do with me, woman?” Jesus asked. “My hour has not yet come.”
John 2:3-4
One of my favorite lines from the wonderful song “Cry No More” by The Cross Movement is: “This is what many are having beef with; God’s rotisserie style can make a brother’s teeth grit; Cause He’s quick but according to our concept of speed; Looking at man He thought about the depth of our need.” God’s timing can be so very frustrating.
In the text today, Jesus indicates to Mary that it is not yet time to reveal his identity as Messiah. Jesus goes on to complete the task Mary requested, but we learn here that God’s ways are not our ways. What we consider urgent, God may not; and what we consider meaningless may just be God’s weaving together something wonderfully grand.
An argument I once heard against God was that God is not a good engineer because of all the waste of space in our universe. Look at all the emptiness. One response to this argument is to question what it means for God to “waste?” God has unlimited resources. Likewise, what does it mean for God to be “slow” or “fast” in regard to bringing about some providential future? God will take however long it takes to bring about the maximally great future.
Here’s what I’ve learned that I still often fail to do: focus on those things in your control and leave the rest to the Lord. What you’ll soon realize is that very little is actually in our control. Here’s some things you can control: are you reading the Bible daily? are you living a prayerful life day-to-day? are you in an ongoing biblical community? do you regularly attend worship gatherings? are you being discipled and are you making disciples? I find that when I focus on these sorts of activities, life seems to go about well and my frustration with God’s timing simply fades away.