Famine

Famine

Amos 8:11-12 “The time is surely coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.  They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.”

Does it feel like you are in this famine?  Does it feel like you have plenty to eat and drink, but you could use a little more God in your life?  I know a lot of people that are struggling.  I heard from a woman the other day that is still looking for a job.  She has been looking for a long time now and she said it’s hard.  She said that at this point she really needs a miracle and that it really tries your faith when you are asking for something for such a long time and you don’t see any answers.  

I wish I could say that this person was in the minority. That most people I knew were doing pretty good and not struggling too much.  However, that is not the case.  Everywhere I turn these days I seem to be running into people that need a miracle.  Cancer seems to be everywhere and it seems every day someone else I know has a loved one that just found out they have cancer.  There are also people struggling to either find work, or at risk of losing the job the have because all the controversy with the COVID vaccine right now.  

Then there are those that have been praying for things for so long that it is hard to remember a time when they weren’t praying for it and yet it appears their has not been an answer yet.  They feel these desires have been placed in their hearts for a reason and yet it is hard to keep hoping for them when they haven’t seen any signs there is even a possibility of their desires coming true.  I say it appears there haven’t been any answers because maybe there have been and we don’t understand what those answers are.  God is a mystery and sometimes He does things and we think they make no sense and then years down the road, we have an ah ha moment and it all makes sense.  

Why are there so many people struggling right now?  Why are there so many people that feel like God is not talking to them, or they feel like they are in the famine that God is talking about in this verse?  Why do some people get to hear the Word of God and other’s don’t?  I wish I had these answers for you.  I wish I understood God’s plan and could relay it to you.  Unfortunately, He is the only one that knows all the details.  I do know that God doesn’t want us to suffer.  Father Mike is always talking about God’s permissive will vs God’s perfect will.  God’s perfect will be for all of us to never sin and for their to be no suffering in the world.  God doesn’t like to watch us suffer.  He loves us and wants nothing but the best for us.  However, sin entered the world and so God does permit things to happen to us and he does allow us to suffer.

What can we do while we are in the suffering to make it easier?  I think there are a few things we can do.  First, I think we can praise God.  We can thank Him for all the things that He is doing for us, even when He is not doing the everything for us.  Even if you have been praying for one thing for the last 20 years and He has not answered that prayer yet, I am sure you can find other things that He has done for you.  Do you have enough food to eat and a roof over your head?  You can thank God for that.  Is your health ok, are your kids ok?  You can thank God for that?  What else can you thank God for?  Luke 16:10 says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”  If we show God that we can be faithful with what we have, He will trust us with more.

Second, we can keep asking Him.  When we have already asked God a million times for something we can be tempted to stop asking.  We can take His silence as a no and just give up.  I think this is a mistake. There are numerous time in the Bible when God lets us know that He likes our persistence.  I have talked about the woman and the judge several times.  Another example is found in Luke 11:5-8, "And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’  And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”  God wants us to keep asking.  He doesn’t want us to give up.  Maybe He is waiting to see how much it means to us.  Maybe He wants to know how long you will keep asking for it.  

Third, We can spend time listening.  Instead of just praying for what we want and going about our day, we can stop and ask God what He wants.  We can ask Him if we are doing what He wants us to do.  Are we living our lives according to His Word?  Are we living the life He wants us to live or did we take a wrong turn somewhere and then missed the detour signs to get back on track?  It can be really hard sometimes to make the time to hear the Lord.  Our lives are so busy and full of distractions.  If we want to hear the Lord we need to set time aside for Him.  We need to quiet not only our minds but our environment too.  Silence our cell phones, and step away from the business in our lives.  

In the Bible when it talks about Jesus praying it often says He went off to be alone or He went up the mountain where he could be alone.  Matthew 26:36 says, "Then Jesus went with his followers to a place called Gethsemane. He said to them, “Sit here while I go there and pray.”   Another example is Matthew 14:23, “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray…”  Jesus knew it was easier to hear the Lord when you had less distractions.  Are you giving the Lord your full attention when you are spending time with Him?  Are you spending time with Him to try and hear what He has to say? Is it possible that you aren’t hearing the Word of the Lord because you either aren’t seeking it, or your aren’t going off to a quiet place where you can hear it?  

The Lord loves you!  He wants to talk to each one of us.  He wants to have conversations with us.  We are His children and He is our Heavenly Father.  He doesn’t want us to suffer.  If you feel that you are in a famine of God’s Word lately, try and spend some time this week going off by yourself and just sitting with the Lord.  You don’t have to say anything.  If you have never done this before, I think you will be amazed at how amazing it can feel.  One thing we say at prayer group that may be helpful is “Speak Lord, your servant is listening,” and then we just sit and listen.  Give it a try, what do you have to lose?

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that you bless all those listening to this episode today.  Lord you are so amazing and we want to hear your Word.  Please don’t hide it from us.  Lord, help us to make time for you.  Help us to go off by ourselves and listen to what you have to say to us.  Direct us Lord.  Please help us to find comfort in our circumstances.  Please provide those that are struggling not only with the peace they need but also the strength they need to keep pushing forward.  Give them the grace to keep having faith even when it is being tested.  Lord we love you so very much and we are so very thankful for all that you do for us.  We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.

Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus.  Thank you also to those of you participating in the 10 Weeks to Be More Like Jesus Challenge.  I sent out the first email last night.  This week we will be focusing on Love.  The email had a link to an article titled 87 ways to Be Love and Kind. (click here for article) I will place a link in the show notes in case you are interesting in trying to be more loving this week.  I will also put a link in the show notes in case you want to sign up for the challenge and get the emails delivered right to your inbox.  (Click here to sign up) As always, I look forward to spending time with you tomorrow.  Have a blessed day!