What will be the greatest famine in the last days?
When I was a kid growing up in a denominational church, if someone said to me, "Isn't it great that we are saved?" I might have replied, "Yes, would you please pass the potatoes? In my heart having my physical appetite met was just as important as my spiritual values. My heart may have been more like Esau than I want to admit.
Jesus evaluated His generation in a very similar manner. "They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, 'We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we mourned to you and you did not weep.'" In other words, they chose to be mere spectators who refused to respond to the message given to them. Several times He addressed the crowd, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." There must be a difference in having physical ears and choosing to hear.
Flesh is flesh and has not changed since Adam sinned. Romans 8 points out that flesh is at enmity with God and cannot please Him. So sin abounds but He gives more grace. He has given every man the measure of faith to receive His grace and be saved. Yet we have to deliberately respond to His grace, His gift of eternal life through Jesus' death and resurrection. The Spirit of God empowers our spirit to choose life, and reveals truth through the Word that sets us free from the flesh. The Word accomplishes His purpose to bring us to God and change us. Jesus said we are to abide in Him and let His Word abide in us.
Solomon, in his wisdom, likewise gave us instruction on how to receive God's Word. "Apply you heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge (Proverbs 23:12) Ezekiel was told by God, "Son of man, receive into your heart all my words I speak to you, and hear with your ears." On the other hand, Ezekiel understood that he was "in the midst of a rebellious house, which has eyes to see but does not see, ears to hear but does not hear; for they are a rebellious house (Ezekiel 12:2) When you hear and respond to God's Word, you often have to go against the stream of public opinion.
So what is this great famine coming to the earth in the last days? Not food or drink, but according to Amos 8:11, "Famine of hearing the Word of God." (Notice it is not the Word of God, but rather "hearing" the Word of God.)
Isaiah reminds us (50:4) that every morning God awakens us to behold His image and opens our ears to hear. Therefore, let you ears "hear" the Word of the Lord. Let the Word dwell in you richly. Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed in your mind through God's truth. In the days of this famine, you will be a light that shines in the darkness and leads many to safety. So let's obey in faith with Solomon, "My son, give attention to my words; incline your ears to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." Proverbs 4:20-22 Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.
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