Two Parts Hydrogen. One-Part Oxygen.
Everyone wants a miracle. But here’s the catch: no one wants to be in a situation that necessitates one. Of course, you can’t have one without the other.
The prerequisite for a miracle is a problem. and the bigger the problem, the greater the potential miracle. If the wedding party in Cana hadn’t run out of wine, there would have been no need for the winemaker to do what he did. What the bride and groom perceived as a problem was really a perfect opportunity for God to reveal his glory. Nothing has changed since Jesus turned water into wine, healed a man born blind, and called Lazarus out of his tomb four days after his funeral.
Thirty-four distinct miracles are recorded in the gospels. Not counting the Big Three – the conception, the resurrection, and the Ascension of Christ. And John himself notes in the very last verse of the Gospel that countless other miracles didn’t make the list. But John chooses seven miracle highlights, four of which are only found in the gospel bearing his name. Each of these seven signs reveals a new dimension of God’s power, of God’s personality. And each one is more amazing than the last.
The wine running dry in Cana was no accident. It was a divine appointment. Like most miraculous opportunities, it came disguised as a problem. Mary saw it for what it really was, Jesus date with destiny.
Water. Two parts hydrogen. One-part oxygen.
It’s the most basic chemical compound on Earth. It’s also the most vital. It covers 71% of the planet. It composes 65% of your body.
A well-hydrated person with great survival skills can stay alive as long as 12 days without water, but not everybody is like that. Most of us wouldn’t make it more than 2 or 3 days. Yet because it’s delivered through pipes to half a dozen different faucets in our first-world homes, we take water for granted. We could even determine its temperature or buy a deluxe shower head to maximize water pressure.
When was the last time you thanked God for good old-fashioned water?
We don’t appreciate the miracles God constantly does day in and day out. Forgive me for phrasing it this way, but the problem with God is that God is so good at what he does that we take it for granted. What God does best, like keep our planet in orbit, we often appreciate least. But if you learn to recognize the moment by moment miracles that are all around us all the time, we would live in wonderment every second of every minute of every day. We’d also crack the joy code. Joy is not getting what you want. It’s fully appreciating what you have. And it all starts with the basics, like water.