GOD’S BLESSINGS IN A TIME OF FAMINE - If you’re struggling or facing challenges in your finances, health, or relationships, remember that God is faithful. Even many of the Bible’s greatest heroes sometimes experienced times of testing or famine. You can trust God by sowing seeds to meet your needs! Every kind of seed in nature has a different germination period. In the same way, the seeds you sow into God’s Kingdom may not always sprout as quickly as you would like. That’s why the Bible encourages us, “In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” - “In the days of famine they will have abundance” - God can bless His covenant people despite any struggles that surround them! The Bible gives this amazing promise to those who obey Him: “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand.” If you’re struggling or facing challenges in your finances, health, or relationships, remember that God is faithful. Even many of the Bible’s greatest heroes sometimes experienced times of testing or famine. Yet the Scriptures provide this incredible word of encouragement: “In the days of famine they will have abundance.” You can’t buy a blessing, but you can sow your way out of a problem. Whether you need a financial breakthrough, a healing in your body, or the restoration of your relationship with a loved one, you can trust God by sowing seeds to meet your needs!

..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

God’s Blessings in a Time of Famine

If you’re struggling or facing challenges in your finances, health, or relationships, remember that God is faithful. Even many of the Bible’s greatest heroes sometimes experienced times of testing or famine. You can trust God by sowing seeds to meet your needs! Every kind of seed in nature has a different germination period. In the same way, the seeds you sow into God’s Kingdom may not always sprout as quickly as you would like. That’s why the Bible encourages us, “In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

by Inspiration Ministries

 

“In the days of famine they will have abundance” (Psalms 37:19).

 

What’s the condition of your personal economy? Is there a way to manage that despite world events?

The short answer is “yes.”

God can bless His covenant people despite any struggles that surround them! The Bible gives this amazing promise to those who obey Him:

“The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand” (Deuteronomy 28:12).

If you’re struggling or facing challenges in your finances, health, or relationships, remember that God is faithful.

Even many of the Bible’s greatest heroes sometimes experienced times of testing or famine.

Yet the Scriptures provide this incredible word of encouragement: “In the days of famine they will have abundance” (Psalms 37:19).

How is This Supernatural Abundance Possible?

Following are three powerful Scriptural principles to help guide you into God’s seasons of blessings, even in difficult economic times.

·      You can’t buy a blessing, but you can sow your way out of a problem. 

In Genesis 26, Isaac faced “a famine of the land” (verse 1).

So what did he do? Instead of becoming miserly and hoarding his resources, he determined to sow more seeds!

Whether you need a financial breakthrough, a healing in your body, or the restoration of your relationship with a loved one, you can trust God by sowing seeds to meet your needs!

·      The sooner you plant your seed, the sooner you’ll receive your harvest. 

Just as a farmer must be patient, the Bible teaches that we receive the fulfillment of God’s promises through “faith and patience” (Hebrews 6:12).

Have you ever considered the fact that every kind of seed in nature has a different germination period?

In the same way, the seeds you sow into God’s Kingdom may not always sprout as quickly as you would like.

That’s why the Bible encourages us, “In due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

·      God has already placed seasons on His calendar when He wants to bless His people. 

Although God is always blessed when we act in faith to sow financial seeds into His Kingdom, the Bible says there are “appointed times” when He wants us to bring Him special offerings so He can bless us with extraordinary miracles.

This can be your season of God’s favor. It’s His will that you walk in health, receive His abundance, and recover everything the devil has stolen from you!

His Word clearly teaches that we will experience His miraculous provision when we obey Him, understand His seasons of blessing, and step out on faith to sow our seeds into His Kingdom.

Whatever turnaround you need in your life—healing, deliverance, protection, a financial breakthrough, or a restored relationship, the links below can get you started in your special season of blessings today!

Inspiration Ministries is a Christian Ministry & TV Network that broadcasts the message of Jesus Christ around the world through its media outlets. 

https://inspiration.org/christian-articles/gods-blessings-in-time-of-famine/

THE GOD OF A SECOND CHANCE - be faithful in times of testing - align your life with God’s will – He has so much bigger and more beautiful plans than we could have imagined - "All things work together for good to those who love God" - Sold by his brothers into slavery, taken to a foreign land, unfairly accused and imprisoned, and with little hope or expectation of ever seeing his family again, Joseph was in what seemed an impossible situation. Despite all that, the Bible says, "The Lord was with him." God allowed the testing to build character in Joseph. Joseph went through years of waiting and suffering before he saw God's plan in it all. God used Joseph to save Egypt, the surrounding nations, and Joseph's own family. God's plans and purposes are so much bigger and greater than our own. At the end of his story, Joseph says, "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day." That same truth is reconfirmed in the book of Romans in the New Testament. "All things work together for good to those who love God." God is indeed, the God of second chances.

..................................................................................................................................................................

The God of a Second Chance

be faithful in times of testing - align your life with God’s will – He has so much bigger and more beautiful plans than we could have imagined

Terry Meeuwsen

"All things work together for good to those who love God" Romans 8:28 (NKJV).

I began working in television in Milwaukee in 1978.

While I'd never set out to do talk TV, I felt at home from the beginning, and being in the public eye gave me many opportunities to share my faith.

Because it was fairly common knowledge in the community that I was a Christian, the publicity of going through a divorce was difficult.

That winter, I went home at the end of each day to a cold, silent house.

Emotionally depressed and grieved, I would then climb into bed with my hat, coat, and boots still on and sleep till morning.

I'm not sure when that heavy veil of grief and emptiness began to lift.

But sometime that spring, I became aware of the sweet smell of the wet earth beginning to thaw, the songs of promise that were being sung with such abandon from every nest and perch.

I began to move on. I had no intention of dating and no interest in pursuing a new relationship.

Though I loved children, I had accepted that there would be none in my first marriage.

I was in my 30s, and the prospect of marriage and a family seemed remote and unlikely. Yet God had other plans.

I met Andy Friedrich at a retirement celebration for a coworker.

He had gone through a divorce a number of years before that, and after much floundering and searching, a friend had led him to Christ.

But no one had discipled him, so he had little knowledge of the Scriptures and wasn't in a church or study group of any kind.

Initially we met to talk about the Lord. In time, I grudgingly conceded to a date, but not without apprehension.

Even though Andy was ready for a relationship, I was still gun-shy — so he simply waited.

With tenderness and kindness and an incredible amount of patience, he broke down any barriers I'd put up.

He was faithful, trustworthy, and committed to the Lord and to me. We were married a little more than a year after we'd begun dating.

The Lord used Andy in many ways to help heal old wounds in me. He offered both of us a new beginning, a clean slate, a hope, and a future.

And I'm now a mom — not one, not two, but seven children, each a precious, unique gift from the Lord.

God has surely given me more than I could hope for or ask.

The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis is one of my favorites.

Sold by his brothers into slavery, taken to a foreign land, unfairly accused and imprisoned, and with little hope or expectation of ever seeing his family again,

Joseph was in what seemed an impossible situation. Despite all that, the Bible says, "The Lord was with him."

God allowed the testing to build character in Joseph.

Joseph went through years of waiting and suffering before he saw God's plan in it all.

God used Joseph to save Egypt, the surrounding nations, and Joseph's own family. God's plans and purposes are so much bigger and greater than our own.

At the end of his story, Joseph says,

"You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day" Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)

That same truth is reconfirmed in the book of Romans in the New Testament.

"All things work together for good to those who love God" Romans 8:28 (NKJV).

God is indeed, the God of second chances.

Thank You, Lord for the constant message of restoration that runs throughout Your Word.

Thank You for the glimpse of Your handiwork that is so much bigger and more beautiful than I could have imagined.

Help me to be faithful in times of testing. Align my life with Your will. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Excerpted with permission from Near to the Heart of God, by Terry Meeuwsen

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life. Discover how you can find peace with God. You can also send us your prayer requests.

Terry Meeuwsen was born and raised in the Green Bay area of Wisconsin, where she grew up the oldest of four siblings.  Gifted from a young age, Terry developed her God-given vocal talent, eventually joining the New Christy Minstrels for two years before turning her attention to a larger stage.  Terry was crowned Miss America 1973 and she used her new platform to share her faith.

Winning the Miss America crown helped Terry launch a career in broadcasting that would ultimately bring her to the Christian Broadcasting Network. Since 1993, Terry has been the warm, engaging personality greeting The 700 Club guests on weekday mornings. Serving as co-host with Pat and Gordon Robertson, the trio has shared the love of God with millions of viewers from the CBN studios in Virginia Beach, VA over the last 23 years.

Terry is also an accomplished author, with four titles to her name, including The God Adventure, a story of God’s power and purpose in her life.

https://www1.cbn.com/devotions/the-god-of-a-second-chance

CRUSHED LIKE A ROSE TO MAKE PERFUME - God’s people aren’t compared to roses that need to be crushed for fragrant perfume. God the Father did crush, or bruise, His Son in order to secure our salvation. But the crushing was done in Jesus Christ so that it doesn’t have to happen to us. He took it FOR us. The Bible never says God the Father will crush those who have come to Him through Jesus Christ — in fact it’s contrary to His Father’s heart. The Bible does talk about God’s people being refined like gold through trials, and our faith being tried and strengthened. But this is very different from being crushed to make perfume.

...................................................................................................

Crushed Like A Rose

Does God crush you like a rose to make perfume?

BY REBECCA DAVIS

Someone wrote to me recently about songs that ask God to “crush me,” “wreck me,” and “consume me,” saying,

If God can abuse his bride, yet tell her that it is for her good, of course a husband can do that to his. And both blame her for not trusting.

This reminded me of the popular teaching that just as the sweetest perfume comes out of crushed roses, God wants to crush us like a rose so He can make perfume like that. 

As if somehow our lives would become more pleasing to God if He crushed us.

And apparently, from the songs she was referencing, that’s a pretty popular notion.

Does the Bible ever compare the people of God to a flower?

Not unless you count the lilies Jesus pointed to when He said this in Matthew 6:28-30:

"And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" 

He compares us to other plants, too. The people of God are compared to trees that bring forth good fruit (Psalm 1, Jeremiah 17:8), wheat that multiplies (Matthew 13), and branches of a vine that draw their life from the vine (John 15), which I talked more about here.

But God’s people aren’t compared to roses that need to be crushed for fragrant perfume any more than they’re compared to eggplants that need to be sliced and cooked for delicious ratatouille. It’s just not there, and nothing that resembles it is there.

What the Bible actually says about crushing

God the Father did crush, or bruise, His Son in order to secure our salvation, according to Isaiah 53:9-10 when the prophet, clearly speaking of Jesus, said,

"And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief. . . ."

I talked more about that in this post, “Do you pray for God to ‘break’ you?

But the crushing was done in Jesus Christ so that it doesn’t have to happen to us. He took it FOR us. The Bible never says God the Father will crush those who have come to Him through Jesus Christ — in fact it’s contrary to His Father’s heart. 

The Bible does talk about God’s people being refined like gold through trials, and our faith being tried and strengthened (I Peter 1:6-7; I Peter 4:12-13; James 1:2-4,12). But this is very different from being crushed to make perfume.

In fact, when it comes to crushing, this is what the Bible has to say about the Lord’s heart toward His people, in Psalm 34:17-19:

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

What the Bible actually says about fragrance

The sacrifices in the Old Testament were designed to be a sweet-smelling fragrance to God (for example, Exodus 29, Leviticus 1, and Numbers 29). The ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ, was a sweet-smelling fragrance to God (Ephesians 5:2).

Paul also spoke of himself and his compatriots as a sweet-smelling fragrance:

II Corinthians 2:14-16 - "But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life."

Do you see that this reference to being a sweet fragrance has nothing to do with being crushed? It’s not even about our lives somehow becoming pleasing to God. It’s about spreading the sweet-smelling gospel.

God’s people can be a sweet-smelling fragrance to God without being crushed because we are in Christ, all our life is in Christ. We don’t have to be crushed to be pleasing to God, because Jesus Christ has borne all the crushing that needs to be borne. Jesus Christ is the sweet-smelling aroma to God.

Just to be crystal clear, your “pleasingness” to God, your winning of God’s smile of approval, does not come through being crushed into perfume. It comes by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Jesus has already done it all.

What the Bible actually says about people who hurt other people

The saddest thing about this wrong teaching is that there are people who love God who have been taught to think that the crushing being done to them by another human being — the cruelty they’re experiencing, even sometimes at the hands of those who claim to be servants of God — is somehow from God Himself, so that He can “crush them,” “wreck them,” and “consume them” in the process of making them into sweet perfume.

On the contrary, though, the truth is that God is opposed to the wicked who harm others, and many Scriptures attest to that. (A few are II Samuel 22:28; Psalm 10:17-18; Psalm 11:5; Psalm 37:9; Psalm 140:12; Psalm 103:6; Proverbs 6:16-19; and II Timothy 3:1-5.) When those who claim to be servants of God harm others, we can see God’s attitude toward them by reading the scathing warning He gives the leaders of Israel in Ezekiel 34.

What’s the good news?

Here’s the joy for the people of God. Jesus Christ bore all the crushing that needs to be borne in order for the lives of His people to be a sweet-smelling fragrance before God. It is all accomplished for us in Christ.

Now instead of crushed roses, we can be like trees planted by rivers of water bringing forth fruit. We can be like branches drawing our strength from the Vine.

God is opposed to the wicked who would oppress the defenseless. He always views that crushing as wrong.

And finally,

Though there is suffering in this life, some of it severe,

·                  God provides a way of escape in times of testing (I Corinthians 10:13). He doesn’t want us to suffer passively, but to escape cruel and dangerous situations if possible, as David escaped Saul.

·                  But even as we do that, we can be thankful in the midst of suffering for doing right, because through it we will become stronger and develop stronger character, and with that stronger character will come the anticipation of God’s continued work in us and His love poured out in us (Romans 5:2-5).

·                  In our afflictions, our Lord provides comfort so we can then in turn comfort others (II Corinthians 1:3-4). And the glory that is to be revealed in us is greater than any suffering we endure (Romans 8:18, II Corinthians 4:16-17).

Instead of thinking about how our God needs to crush us in order to make perfume, we can remember that He is perfectly pleased with those who are in Christ, He weepswith us in our suffering, He comforts us in our afflictions, and He strengthens our faith as we look to Him in the midst of trials.

That’s good news.

I’m Rebecca Davis, a writer, editor, wife, mother, grandmother, speaker, friend, advocate for the oppressed, and lover of Jesus who lives in Greenville, South Carolina. 

https://www.heresthejoy.com/2017/10/does-god-crush-you-like-a-rose-to-make-perfume/

TIMES OF TRIAL ARE TIMES OF TESTING - God has a purpose for trials and testings. When God tests you, He is showing you your own heart. Times of trial are not only times of testimony and trusting; they are also times of testing. Don't view trials as something to endure. Rather, consider it an opportunity for growth. Use this time to examine your heart. Perhaps God wants to teach you something and develop an area of your life. Yield yourself to Him and trust Him to do a good work in you.

.

Times Of Trial Are Times Of Testing

TESTED IN A TIGHT SPOT

BY WARREN WIERSBE 

In Prayer, Praise and Promises

Read Psalm 7:1-9

This psalm was born out of a sad experience David had with Cush, a Benjamite (see I Samuel 24-26).

Cush was one of Saul's spies. And because of what David did, Cush caused the deaths of innocent men.

Whenever David had a problem with persecution or with people, he would run to God. "O Lord my God, in You I put my trust; save me from all those who persecute me; and deliver me" (verse 1).

David's enemies were pursuing him. But the first thing he did was examine his own heart. "O Lord my God, if I have done this: if there is iniquity in my hands" (verse 3).

He was saying, "If I have sinned, then let the enemy persecute me."

When we are persecuted or experiencing problems, the first thing we should do is examine our own hearts -- not examine the enemy or even examine God by saying, "God, why did You allow such a thing to happen?"

When you find yourself in a tight spot, look in the mirror and say, "Father, is there something in my life You are talking to me about? Is there some area in my life where I am not as yielded as I ought to be?"

You may ask, "What about my enemies? Who's going to take care of them?"

That was David's question. The answer is that God will take care of the enemy.

The wickedness of others will come to an end. 

Our righteous God will accomplish His purposes, but notice the end of verse 9: "For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds." 

Times of trial are not only times of testimony and trusting; they are also times of testing. 

When God tests you, He is showing you your own heart. 

You may say, "I know my own heart." 

But you don't. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). 

God has a purpose for trials and testings. 

Do you find yourself in a tight spot today? Don't view this as something to endure. 

Rather, consider it an opportunity for growth. Use this time to examine your heart. 

Perhaps God wants to teach you something and develop an area of your life. Yield yourself to Him and trust Him to do a good work in you. 

 

Psalm 7:1-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

In You Do I Take Refuge

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

7 O Lord my God, in you do I take refuge;
    save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
² lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
    rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

³ O Lord my God, if I have done this,
    if there is wrong in my hands,
⁴ if I have repaid my friend with evil
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
    and let him trample my life to the ground
    and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶ Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
    lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
    awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
⁷ Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
    over it return on high.

⁸ The Lord judges the peoples;
    judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
    and according to the integrity that is in me.
⁹ Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,^[c]
    O righteous God!

https://www.backtothebible.org/devotions/tested-in-a-tight-spot