Discerning the Times

UV 1091/10,000 Discerning the Times
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD
Amos 8 v 11

Just as there are years of abundance of crop, there are years of scarcity or famine. It was a great famine that caused Jacob to send his sons to Egypt to bring back food for the family to sustain the famine that had hit Israel. Unknown to the family, God had given one of his own sons Joseph the foreknowledge of the coming famine through a dream that Pharaoh saw. Joseph was appointed Prime Minister of Egypt and he oversaw the preparation for the coming seven years of famine. He organized large granaries to collect the food grain during the years of plenty. He mobilized sufficient labour. He made laws for taxing up to one third of the produce during the seven years of plenty. God had built up his faith and abilities over the years of preparation from his childhood. He acted with boldness, authority, wisdom and faith. Joseph had the gift to discern the times. The grain he collected was to serve the purpose of seed as well as food for people. The Word similarly is both the seed to plant in people’s hearts to produce eternal life as well as the means of sustenance of our spirits.

Just as there are years of abundance and scarcity of physical food, there are years of abundance, freedom and blessing of hearing the Word and there are years of scarcity of the opportunity to hear the Word of God. Spiritual famine implies that conditions will not be congenial for the sharing of one’s faith. During the years of plenty and freedom in the land, the Lord asks His faithful workers to train people to be carriers and ambassadors of the Word. Our spiritual granaries are our hearts and minds where we collect the grains of truth the Lord has taught us over the years. It will sustain us and it will help us bring hope, meaning, healing, blessing into the lives of others who are needy and thirsty for the truth.

Without food, people become emaciated, bone thin, weak, exhausted and even die. Similarly, without enough spiritual food in the form of the revealed Word of God, people become spiritually famished, weak and ineffective. Though famine is a terrible experience and entails great suffering, the Lord sometimes uses it as an instrument to unite people, to chastise them, to correct them, to give them a sense of direction and purpose, to renew their faith. He used famine to unite Joseph with his brothers and father. He used famine to build the nation of Israel from that single family. He used famine to raise Joseph as ruler as prophesied in a dream which he saw as a teenager. He used famine to vindicate Joseph who was unjustly sold into slavery by his own jealous brothers. The years of plenty are years of preparation and the years of famine are the time of waiting for the will of the Lord to be done. If during the years of plenty, people took their blessings for granted and wasted opportunities to learn and understand the Word, then it will produce death and destruction in the years of famine. We are expected to be prudent and wise with our resources during the time of plenty. It requires us to believe in the vision that God has given us and to act with foresight. Noah built the ark on dry land when there was no drop of rain in sight. Similarly, we are expected to act with faith and in anticipation of the time when people will be aching to hear the Word like one who is starving.

Prateep V Philip