Amos 8 - 11.28.23
SCRIPTURE: Amos 8:11 “The days are coming”, declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land - not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”
OBSERVATION: Many people had abandoned the Lord, but they still pretended to be religious. Their wealth, power, and prosperity caused them to become greedy, self sufficient, and, they ignored the needs of the poor, whom God loved.
Amos spoke out boldly against their sinful lifestyles. Their self-sufficiency and pride showed up in the way they were so consumed with enriching themselves. Because their sin was being exposed, the king and the advisors looked at Amos as the enemy, not as a spokesman for God.
So… because of their rebellion and disobedient hearts, God sent a famine throughout the land, and caused them not to be able to hear His Words! “People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the Word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” (verse 11, 12).
APPLICATION: When our appetite for pleasing ourselves becomes greater than our appetite for pleasing God, He allows us to fill ourselves with those substitute gods in order to teach us how futile they are, and what emptiness they bring in the long run! We tend to long for something greater than ourselves when we feel empty and hopeless!
It’s God desire to bless us with good things, but when those blessings cause us to become self-sufficient, and we stop relying on Him, He helps us by causing us to remember how much we need Him. The spiritual hunger and thirsting that He caused the Israelites to have was for the sole purpose of helping them to search for Him, long for Him, and re-connect with Him!
PRAYER: The worst thing I could ever imagine is for God to be silent! When we don’t hear from Him, we lose hope! And when He’s silent, its because we’re the ones who‘ve distanced ourselves from Him.
I pray my heart will always be in tune with God’s voice, whether it be through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, or through a brother and sister in Christ.
Lord, We are so blessed to be guided by You! Thank You for not withholding Your love from us even when we stray! Thank You for Your patience, love, compassion, and guidance that You give as we put our trust in You. I pray we will hear You and obey, and that we will keep our focus on pleasing You more than ourselves because absolutely nothing is able to satisfy the longing of our heart’s more than You Lord!
- Robin Orefice
