The Costly Yes: Obedience in Inconvenience

Comfort rarely reveals character. Inconvenience does. It tests our willingness, uncovers our priorities, and reveals whether our obedience depends on ease or trust.

"Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, 'Fill the waterpots with water.' And they filled them up to the brim." (John 2:6-7)

Inconvenience Reveals the Heart

This story is often quoted at weddings because it is Jesus' first recorded miracle. I have read it countless times, but I haven't thought properly about the filling process.

25 gallons of drinking water for our family this week!

We take our water bottles to a refilling station each week, as our tap water is not safe for consumption.

Carrying each five-gallon bottle from our car into our home is heavy work. Although it's not a long distance, it is one of the household tasks I really dislike (more than ironing, and cleaning the toilet!)

Inconvenience interrupts our rhythm and challenges our willingness. It asks whether we will show up when there is no recognition, no clarity, and no promises of comfort or results!

Showing Up When it is Hard

The instructions were an invitation into partnership, not comfort or understanding!

The storyline doesn't mention the sweat, objections, frustrations, heat, time, or effort. It just focuses on the size of the jars, which hold about the same amount of water our family drinks in a week!

The total capacity of all six jars was about 120 to 180 gallons. That is transporting our weekly water bottles six or seven times. Just the thought of it makes my back ache and fills me with inner grumbles!

These servants were trudging in and out, drawing water from a well, carrying it carefully to prevent spilling the precious liquid, struggling to haul the weight upwards and slowly pouring it into each of the jars and repeating it all back and forth over and over.

Inconvenience has a way of exposing what comfort keeps hidden.

The entire process of drawing water from the well, transferring it, and filling containers would have required considerable strength, labour, and time.

We skip over the narrative because we are used to turning on our taps and having all that we need so conveniently.

Jesus started with what was empty and available nearby.

Empty Jars and Empty Hearts

We marvel at the beautiful provision and abundance of this miracle, but there was an unseen cost of obedience and response involved. Jesus wasn't yet known as the famous rabbi, preacher, healer, and miracle worker. There was no track record to fall back on.

"His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.' ” (John 2:5)

Obedience fills what is empty.

The servants' job was to obey their instructions regardless, but I'm sure they wondered if it was just another pointless command.

They would likely be the easy scapegoats to shame and blame if there were no solution to this family disaster!

• What confidence would you have?

• Would there be any expectation?

• Would your heart object and complain?

Transformations Hidden in the Yes!

We often like to discuss multiplication and increase, harvest and overflow, but what if the requirement that precedes it doesn't make sense, and there is little explanation? I believe our participation involves more than just acknowledging emptiness and following orders.

A high-quality wine takes months or years to ferment.

I am sure they didn't carry those jugs in silence. I would love to have heard their dialogue, their complaints, murmurs, and to witness their disorientation transform into wonder.

Those who show up with a yes are often changed along the way.

The miracles involved not only the provision itself but also the profound impact on the hearts of those facing the dilemma. The servants likely valued the crazy exchange far more than the wedding guests, who were unaware of the chaos unfolding behind the scenes.

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King

The most amusing aspect of this story is that Jesus transformed 180 gallons of water into 908 bottles of wine! Some might consider this controversial, wasteful, or even overly extravagant, especially since it seemed that the event was nearing its end, and no one really needed that much wine.

.

The servants likely didn't even have a single cup to toast and celebrate

Provision isn't just what is needed; it is about what needs transforming from the inside out.

together afterwards, as they were still on duty and had to keep pouring and cleaning up. Yet, there must have been a profound transformation among the entire workforce crew, where weariness shifted to awe, and all those inner complaints were replaced with revitalised faith and renewed belief.

The six empty jars that were available nearby were not the only voids filled with new wine!

Their yes required sacrifice and inconvenience, but the changes were eternal!

I can only imagine that this entire household was never the same again for generations.

Reflection Questions

• How do you usually respond when obedience feels inconvenient or demanding?

  
  

• What might God be shaping in you through a task that feels tedious or unseen right now?

  
  

• Where do you sense God asking you to show up, even when the outcome is unclear?

  
  

• In what ways might obedience be filling places in you that feel empty or weary?

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