Matthew 9:17 “Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Today I watched a video that hit me with unexpected conviction. The speaker said, “Procrastination is assuming God will give you another opportunity besides the one He’s already given you.”

That stopped me in my tracks. Because procrastination really is an assumption—an assumption that the same opportunity will circle back around. But why would I believe that?

The speaker referenced James 4:17:
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

And suddenly, I could see clearly: there is so much I need to do, and so much I’ve been putting off.

I finally signed up for a therapy session after months of saying I needed to go back. But if I’m honest, it only happened because I hit a moment of crisis. Stress pushed me into action. And while acting in crisis can be good, I had to ask myself: why am I waiting for crisis to take care of myself?

It’s no wonder my life feels unorganized. I move when something outside of me forces me to move. I react—rarely initiate. These realizations about procrastination and my fear of stepping into the unknown reveal how I’ve been coping with the fear of change.

Yesterday at a women’s ministry event, we were asked to name the season we’re in. Mine was growth / growing pains. And that resonated deeply. Because change is necessary for my next season, yet I feel familiar coping mechanisms rising up again. And with all this swirling in my mind, a verse I’ve never fully understood kept returning:

Matthew 9:16–17
“No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment… Neither is new wine put into old wineskins…”

Jesus said this when the Pharisees questioned why His disciples didn’t fast like they did. He had just explained that the wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is present. They would fast—but not yet. There was a time and seasonfor fasting, and that moment wasn’t it.

For years, I could never grasp this wineskins passage. But then I realized:
There were things Jesus taught the disciples that they couldn’t understand until after He was gone.

When Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up,” they couldn’t understand until after His resurrection. John 2:21–22 says:

“When therefore He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered… and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

Jesus taught them things before they had the capacity to comprehend them—so that when the moment arrived, their faith would have a foundation to stand on.

I believe the same principle applies to the wineskins. The disciples would fast—but only after Jesus ascended. In John 16, He even warns them of a coming season where people would kill them thinking they were serving God (much like Saul before he became Paul). That was a future they had no framework to understand yet. They one day would be willing to preach the gospel in the face of death but not until after the resurrection of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit!

So what does any of this have to do with new wineskins?

Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a time and season for everything.
And new seasons do not just require new actions—they require a new vessel- new you

2 Timothy 2:20-22

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

All of this is reminding me that new wine requires new vessels.
A rebirth of sorts.
A transformation of identity, not just behavior.

Even the disciples went through a tremendous transformation- they went from men who scattered in Jesus toughest moment to bold and courageous men who would face beatings and death for the sake of the gospel. This only happened after they saw Jesus and poured his Holy Spirit on them!

Usually when I write these reflections, I land on a neat conclusion.
Not today. I am left with more to ponder than clear answers

Today, I want to sit with this wineskins passage. I want to ask the Lord who He is shaping me to become in this season, instead of pretending I already understand.

I started writing about procrastination, but it led me into a deeper truth:
Before God pours new wine, He needs a new vessel as 2 Timothy 2:20-22 says.

Jesus essentially told the Pharisees, “Why would they fast now? The time will come, but it isn’t now.”
I love how Jesus answers questions by shifting them. And lately I’m wondering if I’m even asking the right questions about my own season.

Proverbs 3:5–6 comes to mind now-
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

I do not need to lean on my limited understanding. But seek God’s and acknowledge I am in need of Him to understand. For now, that’s the only wisdom I have.And maybe, for this week, that’s enough.