The God of the Famine

The Lord put something on my heart that I believe is very important. Sometimes, as Christians, we get the idea that if we can believe, we can overcome any circumstance or situation. While there's definitely much truth in that statement, we ought to preface it by saying, "If it be the Lord's will."

The reason why I make such a distinction is because as Christians, we understand the awesome and wonderful blessings we have in Christ. We believe that the prayer of faith can heal the sick (or at least we should). We believe that we can cast out devils in Jesus' name. We believe that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can say to our mountains, "Be removed!" and they will be cast into the sea. But what happens when God ordains a particular mountain to stand in our way?

Is that always some sort of test of our faith? Are we to believe God at His Word and command such an obstacle to be removed? If that's the case, what do we do with the scripture reference dealing with Paul's thorn in his flesh? Certainly, the apostle Paul (of all people) had enough faith to believe that the Lord could remove it. However, we find that the Lord had a speacial plan and a purpose for that thorn. And even once the apostle understood what the reason for it, God still allowed it to remain!

In some aspects I believe Christians have grown too accustomed to deliverance. We often look forward to the day whenever God will give us victory in certain areas of our lives. When that day finally comes, we testify as to the goodness and grace of our Lord. But what happens in the meantime? How do we magnify the Lord while we actually going through our storm? Do we act like the disciples did whenever they were crossing the sea of Galilee? Do we cry out to Jesus, asking Him whether or not He cares that we're in danger?

I've come to realize that the same God who rebukes the storm and the wind, is the same God who often allows such to take place to begin with. Therefore, just like we praise the Lord whenever, he calms the waves of life, we ought to similarly praise Him whenever our ship looks like it's about to be lost at sea. The same God who blesses us abundantly in the season of increase is the same God of the famine!

I've recently been studying the life of Joseph and have been blown away by the soveriegnty of God! Here we find a young man who was chosen by his father yet hated by his brothers! He was thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. He ended up in Egypt where he remained for many years experiencing even more injustice. He worked diligently for his master only to be lied on by his master's wife. As a result, he was thrown into prison and ultimately forgot about by someone whom he had encouraged. After going thru all that, he finally received the breakthrough he had been waiting for. Pharoah made him second in command of all Egypt!

I know it makes for some God preaching to hear about how he finally got delivered! But what about the events that led up to him needing deliverance in the first place? What about the troubles he experienced for YEARS? Oftentimes, we believe that our problems only last a short season. But the life of Joseph is a good example of how our situations and circumstances can actually grow from bad to worse, even though we do nothing to exasperate them.

I believe Joseph begged and pleaded with the Lord day in and day out, as did Paul. I wouldn't be surprised if there were times he thought he would never get out of his situation. We know that he was somewhat traumatized over all the events by the name he gave his firstborn son - Manaseh. He said that the Lord caused him to forget all his pain and trouble. Praise the Lord for that! But I believe there's an even greater lesson to be learned from Joseph's struggle.

Think about it... Joseph never would have ended up a prominent leader in Egypt had he not interpreted Pharoah's dream. He never would have interpreted Pharoah's dream if he didn't first interpret the chief cupbearer's dream. And he never would have had the opportunity of meeting the chief cupbearer had he not been thrown into prison. But he wouldn't have found himself in prison without first being lied on by Potiphar's wife! Similarly, without coming to Egypt, he never would have came in contact with Potiphar or his wife. And he never would have even gone to Egypt had his brothers not thrown him into a pit and sold him as a slave!

So we see that, regardless of how painful each step was, God had a plan and purpose for every event in which Joseph found himself. At each stage Joseph felt more and more violated and wronged. In each instance, he felt as though he was moving further and further into despair. But in actuality, he was moving closer and closer to the throne! Even though his circumstances kept growing dimmer and dimmer in the natural, God used each and every one of them for His glory!
The bible says that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. This means that nomatter what situation we go thru as believers, God has allowed it to happen for a reason. As long as we remain blameless in our actions, we can remain confident that the Lord is using our negative circumstance to bless us in the end. The same God who delivers us is the same God of the famine!

Before Job ended up with twice as many possessions in the end, he had to first experience to pain of losing everything in the beginning. He had to learn to trust in the soveriegnty of God. He had to accept the grace of God in light of his troubles and afflictions. He had to come to the realization that the same God who blessed him in the end, is the same God who orchestrated his steps in the beginning.

The bible says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord. Therefore, we as men must never try to play the part of God. We have to trust that the Lord loves us and only wants what's best for us. We have to understand that many times, out trials are for our brother's comfort. We must die to self, realizing that always God works things out according to His own purpose. There may be a coming famine that the Lord is putting us in a position to overcome!

Things may be hard for us now but the future may be even harder for our brothers. They may need a special grace that only we can provide. They may have even contributed to some of our pain in the past. But what better way for them to come to know the love of Christ? What better means is there to prove that Christians really do forgive and forget?

Maybe you're experiencing some difficult and unjust times. Perhaps you don't understand why God has allowed you to go thru the things you have. Don't try to figure it out on your own. The bible says that we're to live by faith and not by sight. Just trust that the Lord is working everything together for good, regardless of what the enemy had in mind. Remember that the same God who blessed you on countless other times is the same God of your famine!