A Famine of the Soul

There is a terrible famine raging in the land today. Not a famine of food but of human need. Multitudes are starving for love and affection; for peace and contentment; for purpose and fulfillment. The word famine actually means “extreme scarcity, unfulfilled hunger, starvation of any kind.” That pretty well sums up the emptiness so many are experiencing today.

A simple and biblical way out of despair and spiritual famine is found in a single word — hope. Hope is a growing inner faith that what you need is possible. “Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26).

Hope is the assurance that all things will turn out for your good in God’s time. “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). You may think you are doomed to despair, but God has promised to do right by you, in his time, in his way.

Hope is a confidence in the face of no visible evidence; confidence that says, “I don’t see it yet, but I am going to start thanking and praising God now. He has already made provision for me.” It is also complete trust that in spite of all the odds, God is going to work on your behalf and hold you steady. “The Lord knows the days of the upright … and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied … for the Lord upholds him with His hand” (Psalm 37:18-19, 24).

Will that famine you are experiencing keep you separated from Christ’s love? Never! “I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height  nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Jesus loves you so much that he will never let you down or fail you. Come to him honestly with hope in your heart and tell him, “Lord, you are going to see me through and deliver me with your power. I praise you for that.”