In the Old Testament, God often let something bad happen because the Israelites or one of the Israelites did something evil. He let kingdoms be divided, allowed famines to sweep across the country, or let people die.
It often seems very harsh, and yes, from our humanly perspective, it is.
We find one of those famines in 1 King 18, a drought that lasted three years. King Ahab, a very evil king who committed many sins and led the entire country astray, reacted very interestingly: He let his wife kill off the prophets of the Lord. He thus further encouraged the worship of the foreign god Baal.
In 2 Samuel 21, we read about another three-year-long drought that happened amongst the people of Israel, under the reign of king David. David’s response? He went and sought to Lord. He then realized that this happened because of a sin that the previous king, Saul, had committed, and made things right again.
Thus, the famine was stopped.
In many ways, it seems like the Lord brings a lot of these terrible things upon the Israelites. It can mess with our theology, and it’s something I don’t want to, and probably a depth of theology that I can’t get into, because I don’t fully understand it myself. I probably never will.
I have been seeking answers, and I might have some, but I also know I don’t have a full answer. And I also don’t want this to be the focus of this blog post. Maybe some other time (let me know if you want to read more about it!).
But for now, let’s take it and set it aside. Before we move on though, let me say: personally, I believe the Lord is good, and only good can ever come from Him. Whatever that good might look like.
So, moving on: There is one thing that I do understand about this story: It’s about the reaction of the people.
Remember what the reaction of David was?
The famine made David seek the Lord.
The famine, a famine, or a difficulty in your life, always leads to some kind of encounter with God.
In those difficult times, it is easy to cry out to God in despair. In those difficult, unknown times, many people think of praying, because it’s the only thing they can still do.
These difficult times let people seek the Lord.
They let Christians pray earnestly, with urgency.
They lead many to seek the Lord.
Laura Story says it on point: “What if trials of this life are your mercies in disguise”.
What if difficulties and hardships in our lives are not God’s harsh punishment on our generation? What if there is a different reason, one I do not know, but He, in His mercy, is using it to lead us back to Him? What if the famines, the job losses, the economy crisis, the virus outbreaks, are God’s mercy to lead us back to Him?
We don’t go look for the last green grass.
We go look for Jesus.
– Martha
What if He uses that to remind us of Him?
What if He uses that to shift our focus?
What if He uses us to show Himself to someone?
What if He uses us to give us an opportunity to show His love to our neighbours?
What if trials in this life are His mercies in disguise?
I know it doesn’t make it easier. It doesn’t ease our anxiety and fear. It doesn’t make pain and disappointment go away.
But David’s story reminds us what we ought to do, even when the entire country is starving.
We don’t go look for the last green grass.
We go look for Jesus.
Disclaimer: I am in no way saying that our difficulty in our lives are His mercy. I am not saying what they are, because I know your hardship is painful and I do not want to diminish your pain in any way. Please don’t take what I am saying here out of context, and let me acknowledge that your pain is real, and reasons for your pain might be many that I do not understand.
