"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."
John 2:10 (NIV)
God is not in the business of barely enough. At Cana, Jesus did not produce just enough wine to finish the evening. He produced somewhere between 120 and 180 gallons of the finest wine anyone had tasted. This first sign was the Son of God showing us exactly who He is.
The master of the banquet did not know what he was tasting. Ancient hosts served their best wine first before guests lost their ability to appreciate it. Saving the finest for last was unheard of and made no social sense. Jesus did not follow that pattern but deliberately reversed it.
Paul had seen this pattern and could not stay quiet about it. Ephesians 3:20 declares that God can do immeasurably more than anything we ask or imagine. That immeasurable more is not a future promise reserved for special believers. It is the operating standard of the God who saved the best wine for last.
We have trained ourselves to expect the cheaper wine. Life has handed us enough disappointments that we started lowering the ceiling on God. We call it maturity but often it is just unbelief dressed up in wisdom's clothing. The God of Cana has not changed His pattern, and He will not start with us.
Where have you stopped expecting God to overwhelm the problem? You have a situation in your life where you are bracing for the cheaper wine. You have already written the ending and it is a modest one. The master of the banquet at Cana thought the story was over too.
Godseekers, the best is not behind you. You have not yet tasted what He has saved for this moment. The God who overwhelmed a wedding shortage is the same God in your situation now. The Signs of the Son always point to the same thing: a God who does not do barely enough.
Prayer
Father, I confess that I have lowered my expectations of You to protect myself from disappointment. Forgive me for calling that wisdom when it is really unbelief. You are the God who saves the best for last and I choose to believe that Your best is still ahead of me. Restore my capacity to expect more from You than I can produce on my own. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Personal Reflection
- In what specific area of your life have you quietly settled for the cheaper wine, convincing yourself that a modest outcome is the realistic one?
- How has a generation of lowered expectations in the church affected the way your community prays, believes, and risks for God?
Step of Faith
Today, find someone in your life who is also bracing for the cheaper wine and speak this truth over them out loud: God has not changed His pattern and the best is not behind you. Let the declaration land on both of you.
