“I, yes I, am the one who comforts you. So why are you afraid of mere humans, who wither like the grass and disappear? Yet you have forgotten the LORD, your Creator, the one who stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. Will you remain in constant dread of human oppressors? Will you continue to fear the anger of your enemies? Where is their fury and anger now? It is gone! Soon all you captives will be released! Imprisonment, starvation, and death will not be your fate! For I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea, causing its waves to roar. My name is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. And I have put my words in your mouth and hidden you safely in my hand. I stretched out the sky like a canopy and laid the foundations of the earth. I am the one who says to Israel, ‘You are my people!’”
Isaiah 51:12-16
Over the past week or so, we have seen people responding to the propaganda of fear!
Shocking scenes of cars blocking roads queuing at petrol stations, people stripping supermarket shelves to save themselves from supply shortages.
Honestly, people behaving like little boats tossed about helplessly on a tempestuous sea, selfishly squirrelling away stuff to the detriment of others!
We are called, at such times, to look to the Lord and His Sovereign protection and provision.
There is a place of safety for us, hidden away in in God's Hands, with His Word to cling to.
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we must find that place of rest, close to His heart, knowing we belong to Him.
When scarcity rears its ugly head, know that one of the names of the Lord is Jehovah Jireh:
Genesis 22:14
So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Remember the Lord will ALWAYS provide for you. Trust Him!
In times of scarcity, we do the opposite of the world - we share, we give and look for the Lord to do the multiplication.
See the story of the Widow of Zarephath 1 Kings 17:7-16
But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
Then the Lord said to him, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. There is a widow there who will feed you. I have given her my instructions.”
So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the city he saw a widow gathering sticks; and he asked her for a cup of water.
As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread too.”
But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I haven’t a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jar. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I must die of starvation.”
But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and cook that ‘last meal,’ but bake me a little loaf of bread first; and afterwards there will still be enough food for you and your son. For the Lord God of Israel says that there will always be plenty of flour and oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”
So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her son continued to eat from her supply of flour and oil as long as it was needed. For no matter how much they used, there was always plenty left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah!
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