In John 2, we witness Christ's first public display of glory. When the wedding ran out of wine, Jesus's mother knew who could fix the problem. She believed in her son's power. She had unconditional faith in him. Mary told the servants to "do whatever He tells you". She had no idea how Jesus was going to replenish the wine; she just knew that he would do it.
Jesus instructs the servants to fill several jars with water and to serve it to the chief servant who would approve of its use in the wedding feast.
Let me tell you, if I was one of those servants, I would point out the obvious, "Hey Jesus... when we put water into the jars, water will come out of the jars— not wine. Instead of wasting our time filling these jars with water, we should just buy more wine. The jars can't possibly transform water into wine, so let's take action, and take care of the problem."
Then again, I may have expected Jesus to produce wine in an eye-opening, spectacular way. Maybe he could have made it pour from the heavens or spring out of the ground like Old Faithful. I certainly wouldn't expect his first public miracle to be as everyday simple as pouring water into a few jars.
Of course, the jars didn't change the water— Christ did! And He knew exactly what he was doing. Christ didn't change the water into the wine standing front-and-center with the wedding party applauding his performance; rather, he acted with unassuming humility.
He made miracles out of the menial.
It is repeated throughout scripture.
In Elijah's encounter with God: "Then He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.' At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper" (1 Kings 19:11-12).
In 1 Corinthians 1:27: "Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong."
I am quick to take control. With hard work and intelligence, I can find the practical solution. I want to make things happen swiftly, producing quick results. I expect God to act how I would act. In the end, a do-it-myself attitude could bulldoze over an opportunity to witness the glory of God— HIS power and HIS provision manifested in the underestimated, unexpected places.
I want to have Mary's faith, confidently believing that He is able to work in every circumstance— faith that identifies Him as my ONLY solution to all of life's challenges. On top of faith, I need to obey His commands, including the instructions that seem irrelevant or counterintuitive from my earthly perspective. I need to develop the discernment to see God's hand subtly working for His glory.
More often than not, I defiantly run away from the chance to fill jars with water, desiring for God to give me some grandiose work. If I desire to bring Him glory and see His glory on earth, I should be willing to do the seemingly menial.
"Do whatever He tells you" in full submission to the Lord.