FIRST STEP TO A FINAL DESTINATION
Do you ever feel like you’re being pushed into something
that’s bigger than you’re ready for? I felt like that when I started thinking
seriously about taking shooting classes. I’d taken a few lessons before, but
this time was different. The Lord was asking me to make a commitment. At first,
I wanted to resist. Didn’t God know I already had a busy schedule? Why did I
have to do this now? I didn’t feel like I was really ready for this, but I started
anyway.
There’s always a first step to a final destination, even
if we don’t know what the destination is at the time.
I’ve learned that when God pushes, I can’t say no.
And did you know that Jesus faced the same kind of thing?
John 1 and 2 tell us the story.
Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist, marking
the beginning of his ministry. John said of him: “This is he of whom I said,
‘After me cometh a man which is preferred before me’. . . And John bare record,
saying, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him. . . And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God’” (John
1:30, 32, 34).
John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming of
Christ, and when John baptized Jesus, he told his followers to start following
Jesus. They did, and they got others to follow him too, and Jesus began to
teach them.
“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of
Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there” (John 2:1).
So what did Jesus’ mother do? She invited Jesus and his
new disciples to the wedding. When they got there, they wanted to join the
celebration, and they wanted a glass of wine.
“And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith
unto him, ‘They have no wine’” (v. 3). They all knew that Jesus had been
proclaimed as the Christ, the promised one who would save the world, and mom
was no exception. She expected her son to find a solution to the wine problem
and I believe God inspired her to push him. God doesn’t always have to speak to
us directly, but often works through others who will deliver His messages.
But, like us, Jesus wasn’t so happy about being pushed.
Hebrews 4:15 tells us that Jesus went through every thought and emotion we go
through, and that includes being annoyed when we feel pushed to do something we
may not feel we’re ready for!
So, Jesus basically told mom to back off. “Jesus saith
unto her, ‘Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come’” (v.
4). He was saying something like, “Hold on a doggone minute! I just got
baptized the other day, or did you forget? I’m not quite ready for this stuff
yet!” But his mother knew who he was, and she trusted whatever decision he
would make.
“His mother saith unto the servants, ‘Whatsoever he saith
unto you, do it’” (v. 5). Jesus’ mother was wise—she was a thinker.
When it came to her son, she absolutely knew what God said about who her child
was going to be. Remember in Luke 2 when Jesus was born and the shepherds came
and corroborated what the angel had told Mary about birthing the Messiah,
“Christ the Lord”.
“And all they that heard it wondered at those
things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things,
and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:18-19).
So, when Jesus was baptized into his ministry, she gave
him a little shove, but left the decision totally up to him. And what did he
do? He tapped into the spirit of God within him and took the first step, and
immediately he was on the fast track to his destiny. Jesus did his first public
miracle and made water into wine and it was the best wine they ever tasted!
When we feel like we’re being pushed a little too hard or
a little too fast into something we feel we may not be ready for, if we’re
pretty sure it’s of God, let’s not fight it, but just say “Okay, let’s do
this”. Afterall, we only have to take one step at a time and Jesus is always
there, and our guardian angels too, to help and guide us to our final
destinations. No matter how old or young you are, it’s a great journey!
And by the way, by my third lesson, my instructor told me
I was a better shot than the whole group of security guys that came to
practice! I’ve been blessed me with a steady hand 😊.
Love, Carolyn
WINGS: A Journey in Faith from the Earthly to the
Heavenly – an awesome spiritual adventure and great interactive
workbook. Find it on Amazon in printed form or Kindle.
