Can You Survive a Famine of Hearing God’s Word?

Learn From a Famine of Food in Order to Prepare for a Famine of Hearing God’s Word

Oh, how I love God’s Word! I have really enjoyed focusing on it throughout the last four months and sharing with you the many things we can learn about it. We started this series by learning what God’s Word is, what it does, what we can do with it, and the consequences of how we handle it. We focused on His Word to help us recognize the power of it in order to more confidently apply it to our own lives and unlock the power of Jesus’ name (see God Magnifies His Word Above His Name – Confidence in God). Espero que haya crecido en el amor por Su Palabra y en su confianza en Dios al encontrarlo en Su Palabra y aplicar Su poder en su vida y en sus oraciones.

As we wrap up this series about God’s Word, let’s consider the prophet Amos’s foretelling of a famine in Amos 8:11-12. Although this famine would not be a famine of food, but a famine of hearing God’s Word, we can learn a lot about the famine and how to prepare for it by looking at the causes and consequences of famines of food.

HAMBRUNA

La hambruna es una escasez de alimentos drástica y de gran alcance. Puede ser causada por varios factores, como la pérdida de cosechas, el desequilibrio demográfico o las políticas gubernamentales. Los efectos de la hambruna son: la desnutrición regional, inanición, epidemia y el aumento de mortalidad.

People who suffer from a famine generally have no control over the circumstances that caused the famine. Crop failure is generally caused by environmental issues, such as lack of water or quality soil, pests that destroy the crops, and harsh weather. Population unbalance occurs when the population rapidly expands in an area and the food supply cannot keep up. Government policies also cause famine. As an example, governments may choose to invest in weapons and war when investment in agriculture is needed.

Las personas que sufren de hambruna no tienen control sobre ella ni tampoco la han provocado.

I won’t share in this post pictures of the results of famine because I find them so disturbing. But I am confident that you can envision in your mind’s eye the ravishing effects of famine on the human body. We all have likely seen pictures of people suffering from malnutrition during a famine. People suffering from extreme famine have bones protruding, bellies distended, and flesh sagging over their bones.

Self-Imposed “Famine“

We’ve considered widespread malnutrition caused by famine that is beyond the control of the people who suffer from it. Now consider individual choices that may lead to malnutrition.

Muchas personas se imponen restricciones sobre los alimentos que consumen. Hay muchas dietas populares, la mayoría tiene sus propios críticos. El único programa de dieta que nunca he oído que alguien critique por ser poco saludable es Weight Watchers™. Weight Watchers™ parece ser un programa razonable que no elimina ningún grupo alimenticio importante, sino que hace énfasis en una alimentación saludable en cantidades moderadas.

Algunas personas siguen dietas que eliminan grupos enteros de alimentos para controlar su peso. Por ejemplo, la dieta Atkins elimina o restringe mucho el consumo de carbohidratos simples (harinas y azúcares). La dieta Paleo excluye los lácteos y los granos. La Dieta de la Sopa de Repollo requiere comer una dieta muy limitada compuesta principalmente por sopa de repollo durante una semana, con el fin de lograr una rápida pérdida de peso (10 libras en 1 semana). El plan Fat Flush [purgar la grasa] combina la pérdida de peso y la desintoxicación en una dieta baja en carbohidratos y restringida en calorías. El consumo calórico y los tipos de alimentos permitidos son tan difíciles de seguir que hace imposible comer fuera de casa.

Ciertamente, hay muchas más dietas disponibles para las personas que desean perder y controlar su peso. Algunas son tan restrictivas en cuanto a los tipos de alimentos que una persona puede consumir que se recomienda el uso de suplementos alimenticios durante todo el periodo de la dieta porque, de lo contrario, la propia dieta conduce a la desnutrición.

This dieting can start out in a healthy fashion. However, it may start a process that changes the person’s thinking, feelings, and behavior.

Healthy dieting as an attempt to control weight may develop into an attempt to control the person’s life and emotions.
Una autoestima sana basada en algo más que el peso y la imagen corporal puede convertirse en una autoestima basada enteramente en cuánto pesa la persona y qué tan delgada es.
A healthy view of weight loss as a means to improve the person’s health and appearance may develop into a view of weight loss as a way to achieve happiness.
Una meta de pérdida de peso saludable puede convertirse en una obsesión por estar delgado sin preocuparse por la salud.

Cada dieta consiste de una privación de alimentos autoimpuesta que puede dar lugar a resultados poco saludables, incluso a la aparición de trastornos alimenticios que dejan al cuerpo desnutrido y sufriendo efectos similares a los de la hambruna generalizada (huesos que sobresalen, vientres distendidos, piel flácida). De hecho, la apariencia de dos personas que se encuentran una al lado de la otra, una que ha sufrido de hambruna y la otra que ha sufrido una dieta que se ha convertido en un trastorno alimenticio, no es notablemente distinta. Es difícil, si no es que imposible, saber qué persona sufrió cada una de estas dos circunstancias si no se conoce nada de ellas.

Now, let’s transition from the physical famine of food to the spiritual famine of hearing God’s Word.

AMOS’S PROPHECY

The Lord declared through the prophet Amos that there will be a time when people will wander “from sea to sea, and from north to east” seeking the word of God, but will be unable to find it (Amos 8:11-12). Amos called this a famine “of hearing the word of the Lord.” (Amos 8:11.) Remember that a famine is a drastic and wide-reaching shortage, in this case, of hearing the word of God.

Some theologians think this famine will occur during the great tribulation just prior to Christ’s return. However, others note that the Book of Revelation describes the Two Witnesses that will be proclaiming God’s truth and a warning message to the world with great power for three and a half years before Christ’s return (Revelation 11:3-12). These theologians would agree that the time-frame of Amos’s prophecy covers the end of the age, but they explain that the prophecy also covers many centuries prior to the end of the age. And we may be living in that time period.

The English word for “hearing” in Amos 8:11 is translated from the Hebrew word “shama,” which means “to hear intelligently (often with the implication of attention, obedience).” (Strong’s Definition: 18085 – Bible Truth Library (bibletruthpublishers.com).) So, the famine of hearing God’s Word in the context of this prophecy connotes a barrier that will not allow an understanding of it.

What are the effects of not hearing, understanding, and obeying God’s Word? The Psalmist Asaph explains the consequences of hearkening (“shama”) to God’s Word in an “if/then” statement. If we hear the Lord and hearken unto Him then no strange god will be in us and we will not worship any strange god (Psalm 81:8-9).

We can so easily be consumed by strange gods in our lives, such as career, money, family, material comforts. Psalm 81:8-9 teaches us that we need only hear, understand, and obey God’s Word and we will not succumb to the consuming power of these things in our lives and will not pursue them more earnestly than we pursue God, thus elevating them to a level that they become “strange gods,” meaning more important than the One true God!

Conversely, the absence of hearing, understanding and obeying God is that we will succumb to the consuming power of these things in our lives and will elevate them to a level that they become “strange gods” to us. Moses explained more clearly that if we turn our hearts away so that we do not hear God’s Word, we will be “drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them.” (Deuteronomy 30:17.)

El Señor explicó a través del profeta Jeremías que Él había prometido al pueblo de Israel, al que Moisés sacó de Egipto, que si obedecían Su voz, Él sería su Dios, ellos serían Su pueblo y les iría bien (Jeremías 7:23). Pero no escucharon ni obedecieron Su voz y caminaron según su propio corazón, lo que les hizo retroceder en lugar de avanzar (Jeremías 7:24).

The effects of not hearing, understanding, and obeying God’s Word is that we will be drawn away from God, will worship and serve other gods, and we will go backward and not forward in God.

COMPARISON OF LACK OF FOOD TO LACK OF GOD’S WORD

Amos’s prophecy warns that God will bring about a famine of hearing God’s Word. He will, be it in the last days or in the centuries approaching the last days, bring about a time when man will not hear, understand, and obey His Word. This is like the famine of food. In that time, the people who suffer from the famine will have done nothing to cause it and will not be able to control it. They will merely be victim of it. The results will be visible in their lives by the way they live.

The people who have not prepared to withstand the famine will be distracted from the things of God. They will pursue the things of this earthly life more earnestly than they pursue God. They will spend more of their time, talents and resources on the things of this world than on the things of God. They will go backward and not forward in God. During this time the victims of the famine will not have caused it or be able to control the availability and understandability of God’s Word. But because God has warned us that this is coming, we can prepare for this famine of hearing God’s Word by storing up His Word in our hearts and minds similar to how Joseph stored up food in preparation for the famine in Egypt (Genesis 41). We can seek understanding now.

Consider the lack of hearing God’s Word which results from our own choices! There are seasons in our lives when even though we walk in God’s will we find it difficult to spend the quality time in God’s Word and prayer that is a part of our usual routines. Examples include when encountering an illness in our families, be it ourselves or someone else for whom we are the primary care giver, and when we have opportunities to travel recreationally or professionally. These seasons may be of varied lengths of time and remove us from our usual routines. This would be similar to when we begin dieting. These seasons result from healthy choices, caring for others, pursuing relaxation, honoring our professional commitments. This is similar to choosing to diet to improve our health by controlling our weight, making the choice from a healthy self-esteem based on more than just weight and body image, and striving to reach a balanced weight loss goal.

But what happens when we continue the scarce time in God’s Word and prayer even after the break in the routine? What happens when the lack of God’s Word and prayer in our lives becomes the routine? This is similar to developing eating disorders, dieting to control our life and emotions instead of improving our health, developing a self-esteem based on how much we weigh and how thin we are, viewing weight loss as a way to achieve happiness, becoming obsessed with being thin without any concern about health.

When we allow our lives to become too busy to fit into our days quality time in God’s Word and in prayer, then the effects of this chosen lack of God’s Word becomes evident in our lives just as they will during the famine of hearing God’s Word. Those things that are usually hidden inside us, those things that are part of our carnal nature but are controlled by the Spirit when we spend time in God’s Word and prayer, will become evident to others. This is when we are at risk of spiritual mortality. When we feel spiritually dead. When we begin blaming and accusing God for the harsh things in our lives.

EL MOMENTO DE PREPARARSE

Now is the time to prepare for the famine of hearing God’s Word. We cannot sit back and take for granted the easy accessibility to it. We cannot constantly feast on it without putting it into action in our lives. We must seek understanding of His Word and hide it in our hearts that we will not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). We must be doers of His Word and not hearers only (James 1:22)!

By doing these things, we will survive spiritually and physically the famine of hearing God’s Word. We will be able to continue walking in the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit will continue to be evident in our lives even during this famine.

We can have confidence that we will be able to endure the famine of hearing God’s Word if we prepare now, not only for ourselves but also for our children and our grandchildren. Now is the time to hide His Word in our hearts and seek to understand it better!