Mensa Otabil - Satisfied In Famine
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Welcome to a brand new week, and this week I’m going to focus on talking about God’s provision. You know, since the 2000s, our world has gone through some major upheavals, and constantly our faith is challenged and our resolve is challenged. So it’s important that the children of God know how to stay on track and know how to deal with tough times when the tough times are upon us.
So, Psalm 37, verses 18 and 19: «The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.» Life in the Old Testament was very harsh and filled with a lot of scarcity and farming and all kinds of pressures that came upon the people of the Old Testament.
As you know, the people in the Bible lived in what we now call the Middle East, and one of the main features of that geographical space is that rainfall patterns are very patchy; there’s not enough rain, and so it’s a very dry place — dry sand, dry rock. Farming was very predominant in the life of the Old Testament, and God speaks to His people mostly in that context — constant scarcity, constant challenge, constant difficulty. That’s why when you read the Old Testament, you see so many of God’s promises of provision.
In Psalm 37, God speaks to the upright and says that even in difficult times, we have to remain upright; we have to keep our faith; we have to keep our confidence in the Lord, and we don’t have to compromise on what we know to be right. That’s the background that God wants us to live by. Times are tough, but we don’t compromise what we know to be right in the sight of the Lord. We have to just stick faithfully to the Lord and see what He does for us.
Then the psalmist talks about a couple of things. First, he says the Lord knows our days. That simply means that God is aware of the season we are living in; He is aware of the times we are living in. God knows what is going on. He’s not oblivious; He’s not blind, and He’s not living outside of our experience. He engages us in our experience. So whatever you’re going through, just get that in your spirit: God knows the times; God knows the seasons we are in.
Then the second thing that the psalmist says to us is that we will not be ashamed. Though we are severely challenged and pressed hard, God will not allow us to suffer shame. That is the confidence of the believer. We go through tough times-life can be very stressful-but we will not be put to shame. That means in the end, God will show up for you; God will bring you out. There is no temptation that comes our way that God does not provide a way of escape, so we will not be put to shame.
I just feel like telling somebody this morning that you will not be put to shame. It’s hard; you are hard-pressed, but you will not be put to shame. God will come through for you. The third thing the psalmist says is that we shall be satisfied in times of famine. Normally, in times of famine, people die because there’s no food, there’s no water. But the psalmist says we shall be satisfied.
The important thing is the declaration of faith coming from the psalmist: God knows my days; I will not be put to shame; I will be satisfied in times of famine. That should be our attitude no matter what is going on. As we say, God knows our days; we shall not be put to shame, and we will be satisfied in times of famine. I trust the Lord will see us through and give us the victory in our lives.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, you know the days we are living in. I trust you to satisfy me with your goodness. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.