20 Nov 401K or 104K? (How to Flourish in Famine) Ps 37:19
In II Kings 7 there is a fascinating story of four lepers in the midst of famine. They were sitting outside the gate of the city talking and came to an interesting conclusion. If we sit here we die. If we go into the city we may die or we may live. In essence, if we do nothing we certainly will die! I believe in the middle of this economic downturn, this is a word from God to us! We may not die physically, but our finances may die if we do nothing.
The Bible tells us, “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied” (Ps. 37:19). The NIV version tells us, “In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.” God wants you to be satisfied and have plenty in the midst of famine (or economic downturn). The Word of God tells us some very powerful, poignant and productive things we can do to flourish in the midst of famine.
Please allow me to share with you “6 Facets to Flourish in Famine”:
- Sing in famine (I Sam. 30:1-8).
Here the Bible tells us, “And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire; And had taken the women captives, there were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way. So David and his men came to the city, and behold, it was burned with fire: and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives. Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep. And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite. And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God. And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, “Shall I pursue after this troop? Shall I overtake them?” And he answered him, “Pursue; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.”
The word “Ziklag” literally means “overwhelming despair”. David was in a place of overwhelming despair because he didn’t just lose his job or his 401K…he lost everything in one day. However, David was able to recover everything because he knew the secret of “encouraging himself in the Lord”. In times of uncertainty and upheaval, there is one thing that doesn’t change…the Lord! Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord and again, I say rejoice!”
How did David encourage himself? He would sing praise unto the Lord. Like Psalm 103:1-5: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquitieis; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
David was magnifying God and His benefits, and whatever you magnify always grows! You can’t make God any bigger than He already is and you can’t increase His omnipotence. However, you can increase your perspective of Him! In the midst of famine, refuse to magnify what the devil is doing! Refuse to magnify negative circumstances!
You see, the devil is an opportunist. The Bible tells us, “Your adversary the devil walketh about seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8). He desires to prey upon the “weak”. To discover what makes a Christian weak, remember what makes a Christian strong…joy! The JOY of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10)! Therefore with a bit of deductive reasoning we can understand the devil is after our joy. If he can steal our joy he can steal our strength. If he can steal our strength he can reduce us to weakness.
Recently, I was on vacation. I love to fish for shark! Normally I rent a bike and burley that I can haul about 60 pounds worth of fishing gear down to the beach. This particular week there was a new moon. When this occurs the tide is much stronger and higher than normal. About dusk the tide came up very high and left us no beach to walk home on. It was late and I had to get my son back home to our condo. I had to push this burley with all the fishing gear in about five inches of water and sand for about half a mile. It was quite a chore! When I finally got on dry land my son asked me, “Daddy, was that hard?” In which I replied, “Son, you must know something about your daddy. He never gives up!” Now this is not physical bravado talking, the reason I don’t give up is because I refuse to surrender my joy! Therefore I always have strength (Acts 20:24)!
Remember this…in famine, the believer who retains his joy is destined to maintain his victory!
- Sow in famine (Gen. 26:1-12).
Here the Bible tells us, “And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham…Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him.”
Normally the first thing to go in famine is our finances. But God is telling us it should be the first thing to sow in famine! In the middle of economic downturn, Isaac sowed and that year he received a hundred fold return on his giving. Let’s look at II Corinthians 9:10, “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”
Notice God gives seed to the SOWER. Notice He didn’t say seed to the saver. Notice He didn’t say seed to the prayer. Although saving and praying are important, God said He gives seed to the sower. In everyday language, if God can get money through you, He can get money to you! Let me ask you an honest question. Would you invest in a bank that would not let you withdraw from it? Of course not! Neither would God! Why would God invest in people who He could never withdraw from?!
I know of an investor who is a multi-millionnaire. He will literally drive around and at God’s instruction buy land in obscure areas for a dime on a dollar. It then seems that businesses and homes grow out to his property. He then turns around and sells the land making huge profits. When asked what his secret was and how did he so accurately hear from God, the businessman replied, “When I go to church I will listen closely to God and He will tell me, ‘Do you see that widow in the back? Go and buy her groceries. Do you see that single mom and her four kids? Pay their rent this month.” You see, he practices accurately hearing from God on the giving side which enables him to accurately hear from God on the receiving side!
Everybody wants to hear from God on the receiving side but few of us want to hear from God on the giving side! Remember this, if you will sow in famine…you can grow out of famine!
Next week we’ll continue our series on “401K or 104K? How to Flourish in Famine.