Famine in the Promised Land …

Ben Patterson reminds us of a key lesson from the life of Abram, the father of God’s chosen people:

After Abram gets to the promised land, we read the ominous line, “Now there was a famine in the land” (Genesis 12:10). A famine — in the promised land! Isn’t that a contradiction in terms? Promised lands aren’t supposed to have famines, are they?! But sometimes they do.

Sometimes God imposes a fast in our lives to motivate turning our attention fully to Him. Patterson adds …

Fasting is a matter of exchanging one form of hunger for another. By withholding physical food from our bodies, we elevate the likelihood of developing a spiritual appetite.

We can become so full on what we have that we reach satiety with life … far below the holy life God calls us to. We can become so engorged on the world that we lose our taste for the sweetness of the Gospel:

“A person who is full refuses honey, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry,” Proverbs 27:7.

Many today have lost their appetite for Christ because they have made the world their buffet, then wonder why their experience of “going to church” seems to be so empty to them. It’s at times like this that God brings famine to the “promised land” to provoke us to understanding these words from a psalm of David:

“Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:8.

Are you feasting on the Living Bread, or is famine spreading across your heart? Today, you can “Taste and see that the Lord is good”!

Scotty