When life gets hard and relief doesn’t seem to come, have you ever found yourself thinking the grass is greener on the other side than your own grass? When things got tough in your marriage you thought divorce as the only best option, when everybody seemed to be holding a mighty testimony expect you at your church and you felt like quitting this whole thing known as salvation ,when all singles seemed to be getting hitched but nothing is happening in your life and compromising your purity to settle down seemed as the only option and when life gets tough, moving to a foreign land seems to be the only option to make it in life. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a crime to desire to move to the next level or walk out from an abusive relationship but are foreign lands and new opportunities tempting us to seek out our own will instead of God’s will being perfected in our lives? Is it your season to move to the next or are you only seeking out God’s blessings but not His will in refining you for the next level?
On this post, I will expound on the importance of trusting God when He tells you it’s your season to move to the next and when it’s your season to stay at a particular place, despite famine in your own life. The word of God is very clear in 1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV) For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
There is no element of confusion but peace where God is involved.
There is no element of confusion but peace where God is involved.
When God speaks even though it seems crazy in your human understanding, there will always be an element of inner peace that will fuel you to step out in faith and boldness towards the direction God is leading you. However, when our decisions are based on self-will, fear, people’s opinions, insecurities or selfish motives, there will never be an element of inner peace because God is already out of the equation.
Let’s take a journey at our manual the Bible and look at different people in navigating this whole topic about trying to escape our famine.
1.Elimelech
Ruth 1:1-5 (NKJV)
Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
Elimelech being a responsible husband and a father, I believe his intentions were good in moving his family to Moab but He was not placing his faith in God and God’s provision but instead decided to move from God’s land of protection and out of His will. He decided to live his life by sight instead of by faith and the consequences were fatal.
We see from this context of Scripture that it is better to be in the land of God’s will even when you are experiencing process and famine than it is to seek relief outside of His will while trying to escape process. And we get it, don’t we? We are tempted to live like Elimelech, focused on what we see rather than Whom we trust.When we feel as though another land can provide better opportunities, another relationship can fill up our voids, another church community can heal our wounds and we are tempted to leave God’s promised land, His protection, and His provision.
Let’s be real, the land of easy and abundance is always tempting when you are weary, hungry,in pain and seeking relief but it will cost you. So, from one friend to another, I’d love to encourage you if you’ve been tempted like Elimelech lately and the “land” you are in seems to be experiencing a famine. Trust God. Stay where He has you right now and trust Him to provide for your needs,to heal your brokenness and make you whole.
2.Isaac
Genesis 26:1-5(NKJV)
There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
Genesis 26:12-14(NKJV)
Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him.
God was very specific with Isaac that despite the famine in the land, he should not attempt to go down to Egypt. Out of his obedience to God, he decided to set camp in Gerar and from a place of faith, he sowed in that land. Do you know His faith was the catalyst that prompted him to sow in a season racked with famine? Isaac blessings were held up in Gerar and not only did he prosper but he continued to prosper until he became an envy to the Philistines.
Most of the times in life, we are tempted to go down to Egypt when faced with different forms of famines due to lack of a revelation but are you aware that despite the famine, God in His sovereignty is more than able to prosper us! Are you aware in spite of that famine in your marriage, in your children, in your career, in your relationships, in your finances, in your business or in your spiritual life you can still sow seeds of faith, seeds of hope, seeds of love, seeds of compassion, seeds of godly ideas that will make you prosper until you become very prosperous?
3.Naomi
Ruth 1:6 (NKJV)
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited His people by giving them bread.
Ruth 1:22 (NKJV)
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
After Naomi lost her husband and her two sons, I bet she was left with nothing else to lose than returning back to her land of promise, after realizing the grass is never greener on the other side. She didn’t know what laid ahead of her but she stepped out in faith from a place of pain and journeyed back to Bethlehem. Little did she know, God would restore her and wipe off her tears of loose and pain. Ruth 4:14-15 (NLT) Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
4.Abraham
Genesis 12:1-6(NLT)
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 5 He took his wife, Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all his wealth his livestock and all the people he had taken into his household at Haran and headed for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in Canaan, 6 Abram traveled through the land as far as Shechem. There he set up camp beside the oak of Moreh. At that time, the area was inhabited by Canaanites.
Abram had to move from his native land.to a land that God promised him greatness. His obedience and faith propelled him to move from Haran and settle in Canaan notwithstanding, he had already accumulated wealth in Haran. Abram was not heading to Canaan due to famine in Haran! He was already wealthy and he had servants under him. But when he settled in Canaan, famine struck and as we know it, he went down to Egypt due to desperation and not from a place of obeying God’s instructions. Genesis 12:10 (NLT) At that time a severe famine struck the land of Canaan, forcing Abram to go down to Egypt, where he lived as a foreigner
Within no time while in Egypt, He compromised his integrity and faith by lying about his wife Sarai being his sister which caused him to be excommunicated from Egypt. Genesis 12:18-20 (NLT) So Pharaoh summoned Abram and accused him sharply. “What have you done to me?” he demanded. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ and allow me to take her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and get out of here!” 20 Pharaoh ordered some of his men to escort them, and he sent Abram out of the country, along with his wife and all his possessions.
Abram had his fair share of drama while in Egypt even though it was short-lived. One thing we need to glean from his experience is, stepping out in faith requires obedience but staying where God has instructed you to stay still requires our faith to be grounded in God regardless of the famine. His son Isaac understood this better when he obeyed God by not going down to Egypt and he experienced abundance while the land experienced famine.
Be encouraged today my beloved, God is a God of recompense. You might have walked away from the will of God to pursue your own will out of desperation, out of fear or out of external factors that have caused you too much loss and pain. But please hear me out, it’s not over until God says it’s over. God is a God of another chance and no man or situation is too powerful to avert your destiny unless you yield to it. Choose to be optimistic from now henceforth, that double blessings for your former trouble are coming your way. Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. Isaiah 61:7 (NLT). I have penned down Good does not mean God is in it , What will you settle for? and Are you willing to followInstructions? which are good reads to connect with this particular post.
God is present right where you are. Stay put and stand firm. It is always more blessed to be under the care of His will than anywhere else.
Love ReinaBeaty.
