March 2

The Lord’s Time

“Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” — John 2:4 BSB

Jesus was saying that His time to begin performing miracles had not yet come. Even with all divine power at His disposal, He wouldn’t do anything unless His Father instructed Him. Even His mother’s request couldn’t change that.

One important takeaway here is how perfectly devoted Jesus was to His Father’s will. This was evident throughout His entire life. He never acted on His own but always followed God’s timing. All those years in Nazareth, even though He had all the power in the universe, He didn’t perform a single miracle. Now, even with His mother asking for help, He waited for the right time.

The lesson for us is that we should also be devoted to God’s will. We should always wait for God’s timing. Too often, we rush ahead, full of zeal for God’s work, without waiting for His guidance. We may say things or act in ways that, despite our good intentions, end up causing harm. We try to help people who aren’t ready, or we rush to preach before we’ve been fully prepared.

The common fault among Christians is being too slow to act on Christ’s commands, but there’s also a danger in moving too fast, before God sends us. Even with a strong love for Christ, we need to learn to wait for Him, to wait for our moment. He prepares us for the work, and He prepares the work for us. Patience and self-control are just as important in doing God’s work as passion and enthusiasm.