Feast or Famine? The Choice is Ours

[Ramez5]

Amos 8:11-13 (KJV)11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:

12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

Today, this passage in Amos stood out to me... such a chilling description of spiritual emptiness! I can’t help but think that that is so true today. It certainly describes where I have been spiritually until this spring.

However.. we have a feast very close by.. if we choose to eat.

15 “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”a]“> 17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, ”uc">“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Here is that all important key again.. repentance.

I have to say though, that the Lord personally convicted me of was ‘why’ there was such a famine?

Two things have caused spiritual famine in my own life..
1. Simple laziness…we have to diligently seek the Lord and seek Him first if we want to be spiritually nourished.
The slacker buries his hand in the bowl; he doesn’t even bring it back to his mouth.Prov. 19:24
2. Love of pleasure.. (entertainment.. relaxation.. indulgence in past times)--this was my Achilles heel.. and still is!

Whoever loves pleasure will become poor. Whoever loves wine and expensive food will not become rich. Prov. 21:17
Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man,…. Or “sport” © and pastime, music and dancing, cards and dice, hunting and hawking, and other sensual gratifications; a man that indulges himself in these things, and spends his time and his money in such a way, is very likely to be a poor man, and generally is so in the issue;
he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich; that is, that loves them immoderately; otherwise in moderation they may be both loved and used; “wine” and “oil” are put for high living, luxurious feasts, costly entertainments; which being so, and continually made, will not suffer a man to be rich.


The sense is, that an epicure, one that makes a god of his belly, that is both a winebibber and a glutton, that indulges to rich eating and drinking, in course lessens his substance, and leaves little for his heir: and this holds good with respect to spiritual as to temporal things; such persons are poor, and not rich in spiritual things, that indulge to carnal pleasure, and the gratification of their sensual appetite.
I was tempted to end this with ‘Bon Appetit!’, but of course that would be making light of the problem. Sigh..

Again, to balance this.. the Lord encourages ‘feasting’ and celebration at the proper time, but they should be special occasions.

I’m afraid I was in the habit of considering too many evenings ‘special’. No.. I know that I was. I needed to quit giving in to that urge to indulge.. and say Yes to God for a change. He's the only one who can fill our needs.

Thankfully, we have a better source of joy and festivity than this.

18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,…

This verse has changed everything for me! He has really taught me to ‘feast’ on Him.. his word.. his spirit.. his love. There’s no need to starve.

Dear Lord,

Help us to 'feast on you'! Help us to unplug.. push away the plate.. and get down on our knees where true joy, peace, and soul refreshing comes from. We know it and so do you.. but like children.. we only want to eat what smells good or looks appealing.. not knowing that too much candy or dessert is bad for us both spiritually and physically. Help us to give up some of that 'mental junk food' for something that will bring strength and vitality to our body, soul, and mind. Draw us to you.. Amen