"The hourglass was irreversibly flipped the day we were born, and we’ve been depleting our resources ever since."

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, You Are Never Alone (p. 15). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

That is so true isn't it?

Max says, "We don’t have what we had yesterday. Our spending is outpacing our deposits—a fact, I think, that explains the reasoning behind miracle number one in the ministry of Jesus. He was at a wedding. Mary, his mother, was present as well. She came to Christ with a problem. 'They have no more wine' (John 2:3 NIV)."

Max goes on, "Had I been the angel on call that day, I would have intervened. I would have placed a wing between Mary and Jesus and reminded her about the mission of her Son. 'He was not sent to the earth to handle such mundane, day-to-day tasks. We are saving his miraculous powers for cadaver calling, leper touching, and demon casting. No wine? Don’t whine to Jesus.'

"But I was not the angel on call. And Mary enlisted the help of her Son to deal with the problem: empty wine ladles. Folks in first-century Palestine knew how to throw a party. None of this wedding and reception in one evening, no sir. Weddings lasted as long as seven days. Food and wine were expected to last just as long. So Mary was concerned when she saw the servants scraping the bottom of the wine barrel.

"Fault poor planning by the wedding planner. Fault guests for guzzling more than their share. Fault Jesus for showing up with a troop of thirsty disciples. We are not told the reason for the shortage. But we are told how it was replenished. Mary presented the problem. Christ was reluctant. Mary deferred. Jesus reconsidered. He commanded. The servants obeyed and offered the sommelier what they could have sworn was water. He sipped, licked his lips, held the glass up to the light, and said something about their squirreling away the best wine for the farewell toasts. The servants escorted him across the room to see the six vats filled to the brim with fruit of the vine. The wineless wedding was suddenly wine flush. Mary smiled at her Son. Jesus raised a glass to his mother, and we are left with this message: our diminishing supplies, no matter how insignificant, matter to heaven."

Max later says, "Of what import is a wineless wedding? Of all the needs of people on the planet, why would bone-dry wine vats matter? Simple. It mattered to Jesus because it mattered to Mary. If Jesus was willing to use divine clout to solve a social faux pas, how much more willing would he be to intervene on the weightier matters of life?

He then says, "He wants you to know that you can take your needs—all your needs—to him. 'Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God' (Phil. 4:6, emphasis mine). In everything—not just the big things—let your requests be made known.

"Mary modeled this. She presented the need to Christ. 'They have no more wine.' No fanfare. No drama mama. She knew the problem. She knew the provider. She connected the first with the second."

And you can know the provider if you don't already. Will you make your requests known to Him? Will you?

Yes, yes!