Something has been on my heart lately, and I wanted to share it with you. I keep opening scripture to passages on famine. Here are a couple of examples, from Acts 7:11-12 and Acts 11:28-30:
In this first passage, in Acts 7,the martyr Stephen is recounting to the Jewish leaders their religious heritage-- the story of God's deliverance so long ago.
"Later a famine descended on that entire region, stretching from Egypt to Canaan, bringing terrific hardship. Our hungry fathers looked high and low for food, but the cupboard was bare. Jacob heard there was food in Egypt..."
This second passage in Acts 11 describes how once again, centuries later, God warned his people of approaching famine. They heard the Word, they made preparation, and then they acted.
It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem...
As I read this passage, God showed me the scene from Ruth chapter 1-- Naomi and Ruth hurrying, scarves on their heads, scurrying to Bethlehem because they heard that God had visited His people with FOOD. There was once again bread in Bethlehem -- the House of Bread. And, NOT coincidentally, Jesus the Messiah, who called himself The-Bread-Of-Life, was born in BETHLEHEM. The-House-of-Bread. (Write that down.)
Friends, God talks. And sometimes He provides warnings of trouble to come. Amos 3:7 tells us:
The fact is, the Sovereign GOD does nothing
without first telling his plans to his servants the prophets.
I believe that this IS one of those times. long ago, God gave pagan king Pharaoh a dream of impending famine so he would prepare, and in so preparing, save Joseph's family. And I am hearing the same thing from various people today, in unrelated ministries, that God is telling them hard times and famine are coming. And I believe it to be true.
In the natural, the sequence is War, Famine, and Pestilence, and in that order. War disrupts food supply, both in the growing and in the distribution. This leads to famine. War also disrupts sanitation by moving people away from their support systems and then malnutrition makes them extra susceptible to disease. And so disease begins to spread, much more quickly than would have been the case without the preceding factors.
It is estimated that 40% of the world wheat supply comes from Russia and Ukraine, and these supplies are already disrupted. Drought has affected other crops and prices worldwide are surging. We still have plenty of food on the shelves here in 'Merica, but I firmly believe it is a short-term bounty.
So how should we then live? I believe that the Christian response is to prepare for hard times by stocking up, but more importantly, to cultivate a spirit of generosity. Not to build a higher wall, or a deeper bunker. But rather to set a bigger table. To be prepared to bring strangers to our own tables. And I'm not talking about feeding the homeless. (That problem is ongoing.) I'm talking about our friends and neighbors.
A year ago, I shared a true story from World War II of a crowd in Moscow watching a scarecrow column of German prisoners of war, marching into captivity. One old Russian grandmother rushed up, and stuffed a crust of stale bread in a starving soldier boy's pocket. She started a movement of women towards the boys, hearts moved with compassion, who each did what they could.
I believe days like this are coming again to America, with hardships not seen since our Civil War. So friends, please pray about this for yourselves. Ask God for yourselves if this is true. If this is coming. And if so, what would He have YOU to do.
So pray, buy a little extra when you go to the store, and go make friends with your neighbors. I think we're all going to need each other this year.
artwork by Brian Laing
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