Famished
by Ruth Olsen
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Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land shall be in bondage to Pharaoh (Genesis 47:19b).
Read Genesis 47:1–21
Drought and famine are a part of life in Australia. It’s a dry country. We need to be prepared and ready to deal with its effects. Of course, we don’t know when, where or how long – months or years. Wise stewardship of water and other resources can help; however, if proper care is not taken, we can end up in dire circumstances. Ignorance is not bliss!
The Lord had enabled Joseph to prepare well. I can imagine Joseph was receiving insight, understanding, vision and strategies for whatever was needed along the way, both for his blood relatives and the Egyptian people. That’s some assignment from the Lord. Even the current pharaoh wanted any of Joseph’s relatives with special ability to be put in charge of Pharaoh’s own livestock (47:6). No longer detestable? (See yesterday’s devotion.)
Soon, all the money of the Egyptian people was used to buy food from Joseph. The next year, they sold their livestock to him in exchange for food. I’d guess that livestock was moved to Goshen to thrive there. Then, the people sold themselves. They were famished. Desperate.
Was God being mean to the Egyptians? No – floods and famine were also part of the ‘broken’ world then. There are times when he lets us ‘come to the end of ourselves’ – our abilities – before we finally wake up, recognise and acknowledge our need for him. In our fallen pride, we like to believe we can manage life perfectly okay ourselves. Humility asks for help, as 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us. A humble heart is teachable, not full of itself, but open, receptive and discerning. That’s not what our fallen nature wants, nor what Satan wants. But Jesus has overcome the power of the devil, the world and our fallen nature. Walking with him in his life, death and resurrection is available every day.
Holy Spirit, increase our discernment of God’s ways and our ways. Show us where we are famished and lead us into Jesus’ truth in that area of life so that we can flourish – to the Father’s glory!
Tough things happen in life for each of us at some stage. Currently, Ruth is on a health-issue journey with Jesus in a ‘winter season’. For helpful insights into seasons, she recommends Pastor Rolly Stahl’s teaching series, ‘Seasons of the Soul’, available on YouTube.
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