Proverbs 22-24

2 Corinthians 8

“Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.”    —Genesis 12:10

Scripture tells us that Abram detoured from the land God called him to because of “a famine in the land.” The dictionary gives two definitions for “famine” – “an extreme scarcity of food” or “a shortage of something needed.”

Although we might not be experiencing a scarcity of food, some of us may be in a famine of love. We might be married but feel a lack of love, tenderness and kindness. Others may be in a famine of health, where we long that God would meet the physical need of sickness in ourselves or a family member, but He hasn’t. Some of us might be in a famine of work, where getting out of bed is not the most exciting prospect, or perhaps a famine of money, where the demands and bills seem so much greater than our resources.

How do we respond when we find ourselves in “famines” that make our life difficult? There are two outlooks we can have: We can either look at God through the famine, focusing on our circumstances, which only feeds our fear, or we can look at the famine through God, which is keeping Him and His goodness as the reference point in the midst of trial.

It can be difficult to view the famine through God, but Scripture is filled with examples of God taking care of His people and showing that He is big enough to care for all our needs. Our faith rests in God Almighty: the God who delivered the Israelites from their bondage to Pharaoh through mighty acts of judgment; the God who cared for His people while they wandered in the wilderness, feeding them each day with manna; the God who overthrew mighty kingdoms in battle and delivered them from the enemies’ attack; the God who brought victory for Gideon from an army of 120,000 soldiers when there were only 300 of them; the God who overthrew Goliath for David; the God who shut the mouths of lions for Daniel; the God who brought His people back from exile; the God who cured the lame, the blind and the leper; and the God who resurrected the dead.

Our God is able. He is El Shaddai, the God over everything. Even though we live with the whole biblical revelation, we can still struggle when “famines” hit, doubting God’s ability to protect us as fear creeps into our lives. If we find ourselves in a place of “famine” today and fear is settling into our life, may we remember that our God is able. There is no “famine” too great, no situation too dire and no circumstance too much for Him to overcome.

PRAYER: El Shaddai, indeed, there is no “famine,” no situation and no circumstance that You have not overcome. I believe in You as the God over everything. Praise You!