Finding the Famine God Is Using to Move You

There is a law in science called the Law of Inertia, discovered by Sir Isaac Newton.  It says that an object at rest will stay at rest until acted on by a force.  In nature, that is a very good thing!  Without inertia, rocks could suddenly jump off the ground and move toward you, or buildings could topple over for no reason.  But spiritually, inertia isn’t always so helpful.  God gave us a day of rest – the Sabbath. But He never wanted us to be always at rest.  As humans, we are in danger of being too comfortable – so comfortable that we can miss out on being part of God’s plan in a way we could have never imagined.  Sometimes, God has to apply a little force to get us moving.

God uses a lot of different ways to get His people to move. 

It is interesting to look over the interactions God has with people across the Bible.  He uses a lot of different ways to get His people to move.  Sometimes, it is very obvious – like speaking to Moses from a burning bush or giving ark instructions to Noah.  Often, it is far more subtle.  This week, in my study of Genesis, I have been reading about the early travels of Abraham.  And one of the ways that God moved Abraham really caught my attention:  famine.  In Genesis 12:10, we see that Abraham, then called Abram, went to Egypt – that pagan and troubled land –because of a severe famine.    It is both an interesting reason for Abraham to move and an interesting situation that develops because of it. 

Abraham’s move doesn’t work out well.

In the Bible, Egypt is considered to be a symbol of self-sufficiency and it is to this symbol that Abraham moves.  And that move doesn’t work out well.  The Pharaoh was entranced by Sarah’s beauty and wanted her for a wife, and instead of being truthful, Abraham lied to protect himself.  He said Sarah was his sister and allowed her to be taken into Pharaoh’s harem.  Not only that, but Pharaoh, thinking Sarah was Abraham’s sister, gave Abraham all sorts of material wealth.  In response to this, God, in verse 17, plagues Pharaoh and his household with serious diseases.  Pharaoh realizes the situation and calls in Abraham, asking him why Abraham would do something that would bring down such curses.  He sends Abraham on his way. 

Sometimes God moves us to something which seems to be all wrong.

At first read, this is a story of Abraham’s sins.  And it is.  He moved to a place of comfort and self-sufficiency.  He made up an easy lie to protect himself.  He flourished from that lie.  And he harvested the consequences of that sin.  But it is more than a story of Abraham.  It is the story of a God, who in His sovereignty, knew what Abraham would do, and yet allowed the famine to be so severe that Abraham would move.  The move didn’t promote Abraham – he was caste out of the country.  He left in shame, branded a liar, but, even in that, God blessed him with the livestock and goods Pharaoh had given him.   But I suspect the others who God might have wanted to benefit were Pharaoh and the Egyptians.  Can you imagine the testimony of God’s power that it left with Pharaoh and his household?  Sometimes God moves us to something which seems to be all wrong, and which we can’t understand, because God has purposes we are not able to see in our weakness.

God used a famine to move Joseph’s brothers and Jacob to Egypt.

The story of Joseph, his brothers and their father, Jacob, illustrates this.  After Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt and ended up rising to be second in command of the whole nation, God used a famine to move Joseph’s brothers and Jacob to Egypt, as well.  God planned it from the beginning.  It was an act of love and provision – a chance for Joseph to reconcile and reunite with his family and a way for them to survive.  It was also the beginning of a long period of slavery for the nation of Israel – 400 years of bondage.  And all of it was the sovereign will of God.

The slavery was just a circumstance, but the love and provision of God was never-ending.

I can only imagine what the Israelites struggled with and thought as they endured those centuries of slavery in Egypt.  How they must have wondered where God was and why He didn’t answer their prayers.  I can only imagine how many hoped and prayed for freedom, and still died in bondage.  Why would God do such a thing?  And yet I also marvel at how God blessed them during those times.  The whole reason they became slaves was because they were thriving and increasing so much that they became a threat to the mighty empire of Egypt!  Even as Pharaoh made their work harder and their provisions less, the Israelites prospered and increased more.  And when Pharaoh resorted to wanting to kill the Israelite sons at birth, God intervened with a combination of faithful midwives and rapid, easy births that foiled the plans of the Egyptians.  And in a most remarkable turn of events, God protected the very person He chose to free Israel in the household of Pharaoh himself.  The slavery was just a circumstance, but the love and provision of God was never-ending.

It made me wonder what famines God might be using to move me.

Not only did God miraculously provide for the Israelites in bondage, He used their escape to display His might and power in a way that we still stand in awe of today – with plagues, pillars of fire and smoke, and parting a sea.  Without the bondage, there would be no rescue, and without the rescue we wouldn’t have the miracles we celebrate today.  And it all started with a famine that moved people. A famine that drove them to a place which looked bad for so long, but really was just building up to the most marvelous and powerful moments of God’s interactions with mankind.  It made me wonder what famines God might be using to move me, and what of my hardships after moving are just building up to Him working in my life in ways I could never have dreamt of? 

All hunger comes from the same source – a lack of something necessary.

Famine causes hunger.  Hunger is such a powerful force it will drive people to do unthinkable things – things they would never consider normally.  It is a force which takes a lot of willpower and strength to overcome.  That is why fasting is such an act of submission, obedience, and sacrifice.  Yet not all famine has to do with food.  We all hunger for things.  We hunger for connection.  We hunger for peace.  We hunger for love.  We hunger for heaven.  But all hunger comes from the same source – a lack of something necessary.  Our biggest lack is our relationship with God.  Until that hunger is filled, none of the other hungers can go away either. 

The only way out of famine is to follow God to the place where He has the provisions we need.

We too often try to fill our hunger for God with satisfying the other hungers.  But there is never enough of the other stuff to fill our deep hunger for God.  Never enough relationships or success or power or entertainment or food or busyness.  And besides that, if you truly desire to find God’s will and you are trying to fill that hunger with the wrong things, He will more than likely increase the famine.  He will take more away and leave even what you have being unsatisfying.  He may make the famine severe enough that you pay attention and move.  The only way out of famine is to follow God to the place where He has the provisions we need.

The only righteousness which can fill that hunger is the righteousness of Jesus. 

If you are hungry and dissatisfied with your life, start with the most important hunger.  Have you entered into a relationship with Jesus?  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)  We can’t fill ourselves with our own righteousness.  The only righteousness which can fill that hunger is the righteousness of Jesus.  Move toward Him and let Him fill you with His Spirit.  He tells us He is the bread of life and in Him no one will hunger or thirst. (John 6:35)

Maybe you are really hungering to study His Word more.

Are you walking with Jesus, but you hunger to have a closer, deeper connection and to hear God’s voice more clearly?  Maybe you are really hungering to study His Word more. Matthew 4:4 tells us that man doesn’t live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Those words are contained in the Bible.  Maybe you need to take in those words every day, chew on them longer, and digest them more fully into your walk.

It could be that God is removing something from you – creating a famine.

After those crucial steps, you may still find yourself hungering.  You might still be dissatisfied with your life or unsure of your path.  Maybe God has introduced a famine into certain parts of your life to move you to something better.  Maybe something you thought was a calling isn’t working out and you can’t seem to get it off the ground.  Maybe a career gets increasingly difficult to go to every day.  Maybe a decision is looming in the future and it feels uncomfortable.  It could be that God is removing something from you – creating a famine – to move you to something else that will fill you more abundantly.  If that is the case, the next best step is to pray about it – a lot.  And to hold whatever it is with open hands – ready to give up anything and to take on something new and unexpected.

The day I submitted to Him forever, my hunger started to be filled.

God recently physically moved me – a great distance.  Not all moves are physical, but the process is the same.  I never thought I would leave my hometown and move to where I am.  It certainly didn’t happen in a day and wasn’t something I always dreamt of.  But all the steps I just listed got me here.  I wasn’t walking with Jesus always.  I didn’t understand who He was or how to surrender my life to Him.  But I hungered for Him.  The day I submitted to Him forever, my hunger started to be filled.

I learned to fall in love with God’s word.

Then I realized that I really didn’t know that much about Him and God and the Holy Spirit.  I began to hunger to know more.  I spent a season of devouring the Word, in church, in seminary, and on my own.  God actually removed me to a place of solitude and focus for me to be able to do that.  It was a lonely journey – right in the middle of Covid.  It was hard.  And it was one of the biggest blessings of my life because I learned to fall in love with God’s word, and through that to fall more in love with Him.

I am having experiences here that fill me in a way I couldn’t have had before.

Finally, I felt a famine in my life to serve Him.  I had a deep desire to find God’s plan for me and to follow it.  I kept trying things, hoping to find what it was He had for me.  In many ways, I am still on that journey.  But it did lead to me making an unbelievable physical change in my life – sometimes a heartbreaking, frightening, lonely change.  And yet, as I adapt to the place that God’s famine drove me, I am richly blessed.  I am having experiences here that fill me in a way I couldn’t have had before.  And I am able to start to find a more authentic me in God’s plan because I have a fresh start.

Where is the famine in your life?

Where is the famine in your life?  What part of the hunger have you not filled?  Is there something that no longer satisfies you and you long for more?  I pray you will move closer to God.  I pray the hunger will put you in the place that He has prepared for you, no matter where you physically live.  I pray that today, you turn the famine over to God and trust Him to provide, no matter what the circumstances feel like in the moment.  I pray you do what you need to do to be filled with the bread and living water of Jesus and submit your plans to His.  Only in this can you be eternally blessed.

I hope today’s message touched your heart, increased your understanding, and encouraged you.  Praying the peace and comfort of Christ Jesus on your life.