Pat Midgley spoke this morning at Cherry Tree Court about listening, hearing and obeying God. Her own personal testimony of how she became a Christian involved God speaking to her, telling her to go to church twice, and subsequently she has learned both to listen to God and to respond to what He says. In Jn 2:1-10, we see Jesus performing His first miracle, turning the water into wine at a wedding. His mother urged the servants at the wedding to ‘do whatever He tells you’ (Jn 2:5), and that remains critical advice for us too. We are not sure what Mary really expected Him to do, but she knew that He could change the situation around. Christ and the six water jars became a testimony of God’s provision and love, reminding us that the best is yet to come.
So often, we associate listening to God with action, but sometimes, as with Martha and Mary, the first key is to actually take time out to listen to Jesus. We need to be willing to spend time in prayer, not simply presenting God with a ‘shopping list’ of requests, but really listening for His voice. Jesus only ever did what He saw His Father doing, so this first miracle was based on the Father’s instructions to Him. During the Transfiguration (Matt 17:1-8), God told the disciples more of Jesus’s identity as His beloved Son, and urged them to listen to Him. As we listen to God, we are reminded of His good and perfect plans for our lives (Jer 29:11) and can then move on to do whatever He says.
