My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food day and night…
Psalm 42:2-3b
During a physical famine, food, which is something we’re used to having every day, becomes so scarce that there may not be any at all. But there are other kinds of deprivation. What kind of famine have you endured? Perhaps you are in the midst of a famine now. Chronic illness may deprive you of the health you once enjoyed from day to day. Loss of a loved one mimics this pain on an emotional level. You’ve had that person in your life every day for however many years; then suddenly they’re gone. Perhaps you were deprived as a child of a father’s presence or a mother’s affection. Perhaps at some point you were deprived of your innocence, violated in some way that scarred you and made it hard to trust anyone, including God.
Furthermore as Christians we are called to suffer for Christ. We may be called on to give up popularity or prosperity for the cause of Christ. Our physical safety may be put at risk.
There are many kinds of deprivation. Some are objectively worse than others, but each person’s suffering is his own, and pain is pain. It’s not a contest to see who has had it the worst. Whatever your pain is, you have to deal with it. And as a Christian, it is crucial that you respond as Jesus would; or rather, as Jesus did. Jesus suffered physical torture; he lost loved ones, such as John the Baptist; he was violated, humiliated, falsely accused, and declared innocent but put to death anyway.
He also lived a simple life void of luxury or earthly glory. He fasted. He faced temptation caused by hunger. He devoted himself to prayer, often going without sleep. He understands the difficulties and challenges of day-to-day life and the valleys of crushing heartbreak. He was “in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). He always did the will of the Father, and even when he felt forsaken, He stayed true to what He knew– that God is, God cares, and God has a plan that will not be thwarted. In fact, Jesus as the Eternal Word was in on that plan from eternity and was going to see it through.
He also invites us to participate in that plan. Those who obey the gospel of Jesus Christ become “partakers of the heavenly calling,” (Hebrews 3:1). When we go through trials and temptations, we have the choice to step away from God’s plan or to stay part of it. When we are persecuted we may fall away (Matthew 13:20-21 ESV), or we can “rejoice that [we are] counted worthy to suffer shame for His name,” (Acts 5:41).
Jesus meets us at the table of our suffering. He understands our grief.
My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me. Matthew 26:38
Jesus sits with us in our sorrows. He partakes in our sufferings and we partake in his.
Rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings. 1 Peter 4:13
Paul refers to this sharing as “the fellowship of his sufferings,” (Philippians 3:10). Seasons of famine, too, are an invitation to dine with the Master.
When an enemy comes up against you, or when Job-like sorrows fall upon you; when the ground you stand on seems to be crumbling under your feet; whatever kind of famine you’re going through, offer your faithfulness in suffering as a sacrifice to God. Patiently wait for Him.
Oversimplified? Easy for me to say? Perhaps. But in the end, what else can we do? We are always, every moment, drawing closer to God or moving away from Him. Even in times of famine– especially in times of famine– make sure you are still moving toward Him, even if it is only clinging to Him in tearful desperation.
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,” (Psalm 34:18a).
When all you have to feast on is tears, invite the Master to dine with you and He will come.
from Dining with the Master
by Christie Cole Atkins
Dear heavenly Father, there are so many things in this life that we do not understand and that do not seem fair. Remind us that You care about our struggles and that You have already provided for our greatest need, the salvation of our eternal souls. Be with us in all our suffering, Lord. Make haste to help us, oh God. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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