The Walk of Famine

Have you ever found yourself questioning why God would allow you to go through the times of "wilderness experiences" only to send you into a famine? Even as I write this blog this morning, I have been traveling through the wilderness in serving the Lord, and like the prophet Elijah, I have enjoyed the refreshing streams of His water flowing through this desert and the blessings of His "ravens" bringing me unexpected blessings to sustain me; however, the brook has dried up and the provisional blessings I have learned to live are no more. I have discovered that the Lord has taken me through this wilderness experience only to send me into a famine! It has been easy for me to look to heaven and cry out to the Lord " My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I would be lying if I did not admit the struggle I am having with discouragement and doubt. When rent and bills are due and there is nothing left, it can be a stressful time in one's life as it makes "worship" a task in trying to keep one eye on the Lord while keeping the other from looking at the impossibility of my circumstances.

Fortunately, God's leading of our lives is not without purpose. The story of Elijah and the widow at Zarephath provides an often overlooked truth which is necessary for us to bring the greatest possible glory to the Lord through our lives. In 1 Kings 17, we find Elijah being sustained in the wilderness. God had provided the necessary needs for Elijah's survival and we see a picture of a man who has found a way to be content in the desert experience. Although we are not told "why," God suddenly removed the provisions which Elijah had enjoyed and commanded the prophet to go to "Zarephath" to be provided for. I can image the look on Elijah's face as he entered this town only to see the epitome of being destitute in the widow who was to "provide" for him. God had led him from a place of sustenance to a place of famine! Perhaps, Elijah faced the same "let down" we experience when we have been in a wilderness experience for so long and God suddenly opens the door for us to leave the desert only to bring us into a worse situation. If while Elijah was in the wilderness he believed in the "things can't get much worse" philosophy, when he walked into Zarephath he certainly discovered that the pithy saying  needed to be reworked to say "things can always get much worse!"

On the surface, things were much worse; however, in the economy of God, Elijah was led to the richest, most abundant place on the face of the earth. Elijah was given a "word" from the Lord. God had given Elijah specific instructions to carry out the plans and purposes of the Lord. Elijah gave the Lord a wonderful expression of worship as he "went to Zarephath" in obedience to the Lord's word. Rather than discovering a buffet of provision waiting for him, Elijah found that he was on the "walk of famine" by the command of the Lord. Why would God do this? Why does He do this to us? Why would he allow us to go through the wilderness, open a door for us to get out of the wilderness, only to bust our bubble by leading us into a place worse off than where we were before? If we only look at what is around us, I believe that this type of thinking is justified. But the Apostle Paul offers us great wisdom as to how we are to look at all of life, he states "We live by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). And like the apostle, Elijah was able to do the same.

There is something incredible to be discovered on the walk of famine. When God calls us to this walk, we soon find that we have absolutely everything we will ever need. When Elijah saw this widow gathering sticks and asked her for a glass of water and a meal, a believe a big smile came across the prophet's face when she replied "I don't have any bread---only a handful of flour and a little oil in a jug" (1 Kings 17:12). Weary brother and sister in Christ, the Lord is asking us for a meal of worship for Him to feast upon and like the prophet, He smiles upon us when we reply "I only have a handful of flour and a small jug of oil." Because if you listen closely, He is saying "That is all you need!" Think about the significance of what the widow had. She had "flour" and she had "oil"----the same two things which we have no matter where we find ourselves in this life. The flour we have is "the Bread of Life" and as Jesus promised, this "Bread," the Word of God is something which will sustain us for all of eternity (John 6:51-58). The oil, which brings the flour together in order to make it into something which we can feast upon, is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that bring us "life" when we allow Him to "anoint our heads with oil" and "overflow our cup" (Psalm 23:5).

Worship in the walk of famine is one that realizes that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit is all we need for this life. If God has commanded you to be in a particular place in this life then you indeed have all you will ever need. If God can take a small jar of flour and oil from a famished widow and produce an abundance of provision, what can He do with those who will offer Him through their worship, lives that are obedient to the Word of God and His Holy Spirit? We can chose to look at the nothingness of what our situation offers us and say like the widow, "I'm giving up" or we can choose to heed the Word of the Lord which tells us "His divine power has given us everything we need for life..." (2 Peter 1:3). If we would but realize the truth of having all we need in Him for this life, then what greater worship could we possibly offer the Lord when we are able to say without a doubt that even in a walk of famine "I will trust in You!"