Even Famines carry Gods’ purposes

Today as we face famine in this world, we are reminded of many famines mentioned in the Word of God. Few escaped to near by places while few remained in the land and faced the famine. Naomi was one among them who tried to escape the famine by lodging in Moab. On the other hand, Elijah, Isaac and Joseph were from among those who faced the famine and broke its severity by accessing the Lord’s divine provision for them. We are now in a world facing famine in many aspects. Its not just the famine of jobs, finances etc. Its also a world where there is famine of God’s word taught in truth, famine of genuine love , truthfulness and trust. Whatsoever be the kind of famine, being a God’s child, lets go forth to access His divine provisions instead of trying to escape it by running away from it.

1Kings 17:8-11, ‘Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”’ After proclaiming drought, prophet Elijah was sustained by ravens who fed him daily till the brook got dried up. Soon the Lord said that a widow was commanded to feed him. Though this widow seemed to be unaware of this commandment, Elijah believed God’s word. He did not focus on the words of helplessness of the widow who was planning to die with her son. The channels of our  provision might look helpless and sound frustrated. Yet, the faith of Elijah had the power to break the iron doors of emptiness and starvation. He entered boldly into the divine provision by grabbing God’s word. The companies or industries where we are employed might be proclaiming words of starvation and death. Society around us might not have any words of hope for us. But God’s unchanging word says that, He is faithful to supply for all our needs according to the riches of His glory (Phil:4:19). God sustained Elijah and the widow’s family gloriously till the famine was over.

Gen.26:12-14, ‘Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. ¹³ The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; ¹⁴ for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.’ V 1 says that there was a famine in that land that year. But God asked Isaac to remain in the land. Isaac sowed seed in a land where there was no rain. He obeyed God’s word faithfully. Digging the land here was not easy. The soil would be hard due to lack of rain. Yet, Isaac was faithful. Sowing the seed i.e the word of God in one’s heart faithfully is the only way to see hundredfold harvest. We might be praying for salvations of souls since years and we might be seeing famine all around. Lives today are self centred, not desiring to know who God is. But yet, God is asking us to faithfully sow the seed of Word of God in all those hearts whom we come across in our lives. He is asking us to sow the prayers for salvation of nations faithfully. It’s the Lord who gives harvest. Our faithfulness is being tested. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy (Ps.126:5). The hardness of hearts around can be crushed with faithful prayers of tears. Famine of redeemed souls cannot withstand the  sharpness of the weapon of faithfulness. Isaac prospered till all around envied him in a time of famine, for he chose to prove his faithfulness in the time of famine. May the barrenness of many ministries be crushed to give way to harvest of innumerable redeemed souls through our faithfulness.

 Gen.41: 55-57, ‘So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.” ⁵⁶ The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened ^[l]all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.’  Some famines test our faith while some test our faithfulness. Yet, there are some famines which bestows favor upon God’s children. Severe famine hit the land of Egypt and surrounding nations. But for Joseph, it was time for God’s favor to be manifested. His faith and faithfulness was tested. Going to Joseph was the only remedy to sustain in the killing famine for all Egyptians and nations around. The divine interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams and the plans made by Joseph accordingly prospered greatly. And famine became the channel to bring God’s promises come to pass in Joseph’s life.

Today, when we fear famines, lets understand that no famine could destroy a God’s child as per the Word of God. It could not kill Elijah, Isaac or even Joseph. Several famines are recorded in the Bible, but instead of destroying, they tested and built up lives who trusted God. They manifested God’s favor upon them. They became channels of fulfillment of God’s promises. How is our attitude towards the famine coming against us ?  Let’s look at it as steps towards accessing God’s favor towards us and face them with a Godly attitude.

God bless us all

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