Faith is vital in the life of the Kingsman. In Genesis 26:1-6, 12-14, Isaac exemplified how faith works even in a famine. Here are some reflections on that.
In a Famine, God Calls
The famine plays a key part throughout scripture. Those who live in modern Western societies might not really understand what a famine is. But we could. The famine – a time when there is a shortage of the natural material required for people to keep going. The environment has not been fruitful, and the shortage can affect people’s access to essentials.
It’s a critical situation. If it’s not available where you are and you want to exist, it’s understandable that you want to move to where you can get the resources. You want to keep existing.
Living in urban areas where a wide range of shops offer the basics and a multitude of other things, it can be odd to say that you live in a famine. Yet, there are those who will struggle because of the other thing that’s deemed essential to access these resources – money. When there’s a lack of those, then access to those essentials can be limited. Then there’s the issue of how to get those things.
I know what it’s like to wonder where I would get the next meal to eat. I’ve been in that situation where I’ve wondered how I’m going to get access to the resources I need to exist. I know what it is to also hear God call me to leave a place of relative comfort and move to a place of seeming lack. I know what it is to hear God call me to trust Him.
The only way we know that God is talking is when we step out and obey what we hear Him saying. It’s not a guarantee that things will work out all the time. It’s certainly not a guarantee of ease. Trust is expressed in obedience. Trust is expressed in agreeing with God that He knows best and seeing that He will provide. I’ve seen that provision in amazing ways over the years. All of that, however, is no preparation for the next step of faith, because the nature of the journey sees what comes next being very different to what’s gone before. We have the experience to know He who was faithful before will be faithful now, but that’s no indication of what is to come. It’s trusting God to take those steps and do what He calls you to do.
Hear God. It can be crystal clear sometimes. It can require confirmation at other times. It can require periods of fasting and prayer to achieve the level of assurance. It can sometimes require just noting what was said and when, and then following what’s been said. God invites conversation, as long as the heart is to be faithful to what He says. This is why understanding God in the context of His word and His promises is so important. You want to please Him, and you know that faith pleases the Lord. That’s operating on His terms and conditions, not your own. It’s not the same for everyone, which is why we don’t take a single episode in scripture and say that God has to work that way in all situations because we demand it of Him. Faith stories are rich and enriching exactly because they display how God is not bound to work the same way all the time. Yet there are principles of His Word that shape how we obey, so we know it’s for His glory, rather than for ourselves.
Then there’s the issue of God’s responses to obedience. It can be very obvious in the material and physical expressions of success. The real key is what God does through that success in changing us and others to be more aligned with His will. The prosperity is evidence that it’s God who delivers whatever we do in sowing or watering. It is great to see the material and physical expressions. It’s of even more importance to know that God affirms what is done in His way that leaves a deep impression on us.
One of the greatest affirmations to hear is of the Father saying, “Well done, you have been faithful.” It’s a great thing to know in all seasons, whether of famine or feast, that God sees and celebrates our acts of faith as we trust and obey Him. Oh, for that to be our testimony today.
Such is the role faith takes in the life of the Kingsman.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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