Turn to the Master: An Invitation to Revival Part 3

Daily Scripture Threshing for Today, Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Today's Text: John 2:1-12

Key Verse: John 2:3, 7 (NIV): "When the wine was gone…Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim.”

Welcome to another day on our journey to a mid-year revival. We're all navigating a vast wasteland where it clearly feels like the wells have run dry. Expectations have given way to the gnawing weight of political, economic, social, and, may be, spiritual disappointments. Many's carefully laid plans have crumbled, and most people now feel so forlorn. The good news is – at the end of our rope, even in this state of profound emptiness, God reveals a profound truth: when all else fails, the Master Jesus is precisely who we need.

The wedding in Cana wasn't an ordinary social gathering; it is a parable of our emptiness and futility. Or, doesn't it portray how quickly our well laid out plans devolved into a crisis? How our wine, a symbol of joy, celebration, and abundance in ancient Near Eastern culture, run out? This pictures how we go through potentially humiliating social catastrophes; how easily the very essence of celebration can easily elude us, leaving us only empty and wine gone or failed. Can you just look around you, do things not speak to a complete lack, a deficiency where something vital was expected. Don't our own efforts, resources, or even our very spirit fall short and fail us and things expected to hold the life of the party, stand as silent witnesses to a void?

In such moments of profound lack, when all human solutions have failed, we must face the dire reality, which is trusting in the Lord’s ability to intervene. This mud year season is a pivotal moment for us. We need to turn or return to the Master. We need an unquestioning obedience to the Master's instruction, even when it seems counterintuitive or beyond our comprehension. The servants' obedience at Cana was complete. They didn't question the logic of the Master's word; they simply obeyed. This teaches us that when we come to Jesus with our emptiness — our disappointments, our weariness, our financial woes, our relational breakdowns — He has divine power to turn water into best wine, emptiness into fulness and bitterness to sweetness. He doesn't just fill our emptiness; He transforms it into something far greater than we could ever imagine. He doesn't merely restore; He elevates.

So, perhaps you feel that the "wine has run out" in various areas of your life. You might be feeling poured out, drained, and uncertain. The invitation from Cana is clear: bring your emptiness to Jesus. He doesn't require you to be full, self-sufficient, or perfectly put together. He only asks you to come to Him—honest about your lack, willing to trust Him, and be obedient to His voice. When we offer Him our emptiness, we open the door for Him to do what only He can: turn it into something far better than we could ever conceive. He takes our humble offering and transforms it into a manifestation of His glory, leading us from spiritual barrenness to abundant life, from despair to extraordinary joy.

Action Steps: Identify one area where you feel empty or where the "wine has run out"—be it in relationships, your career, personal goals, or spiritual life. Now, consciously take a small, obedient action, trusting Jesus to guide you. This could mean intentionally seeking His presence in prayer about that specific need, joining a community group for support, or taking a bold step of faith in an area where you feel deficient.

Quote for the Day: "The spiritual import of Jesus's turning water into wine is to reveal to humanity that He transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. He transforms the life of whoever comes to Him." (Simon Olatunji #quotablequote)

Let Us Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word today and for bringing me to the middle of another year. I surrender to you the areas where I feel poured out and where the "wine has run out" in my life. Fill me, Master Jesus, with your presence, your grace, and your strength. Help me to trust that you can use my emptiness for something beautiful and abundant. I place the rest of this year in your hands, trusting you to guide me one step at a time, just as you guided the servants at Cana — in Jesus’ most glorious name. Amen.

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Thank you for being part of this journey. For additional reading on today's meditation, read: Isaiah 55:1, Revelation 21:6, and Matthew 5:6.

With all my love and prayers,

Rev Simon Wale Olatunji, Ph.D.

Your Darling Bishop (DaBishop)

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