Famine's Purpose

Mary’s week began with quite an expensive purchase: new winter tires. A horrible winter storm had settled on Essex County and to top that the high winds blasted across the very, very flat crop lands and hid the side roads underneath the tundra! Needless to say the drive into the Windsor after a week off was very stressful. Robin was in more than agreement on Mary checking out the prices of tires and getting them on the car. Her car had swerved all over the place even though Mary was only driving 40 km an hour.
The first blessing of the day came in a fantastic deal from the new Canadian Tire owner at the local store in town. A nice strong voice had answered the phone when Mary’s called back to give the size of her tire. She hadn’t known when she phoned initially but her calls to one of three other businesses in the area that also sold tires informed her of the size and number. Although the new entrepreneur of the Canadian Tire had estimated a good price for a set of tires Mary told the kind young man she would be possibly buying them elsewhere as someone had offered her a better price.
The wise young man on the other end of the phone had not let Mary get away that quickly and offered to match the price of the other vendor’s estimate! What was nice about this was that Canadian Tire was close by, offered a ride, and could also give her an oil change. The other gentleman with the better deal only sold tires. So Mary jumped on the offer and despite delays and frustrations got a new set of tires installed just in time to drive back to Windsor at 4pm that day to pick up Robin.
What was more exciting was money had come to Robin from a surprise source that day that would help immensely with the bill! Robin had recognized what his step of faith had done in agreeing to get new tires! Mary was pleased with this. God was at work!
The next day Mary had been reading about famines in the Old Testament. As Mary digested some of the scriptures on the subject she noticed that often times when famine came the Israelites were forced to relocate or travel someplace to get food. In both the stories of Joseph and his brothers in the Book of Genesis and the story of Ruth and Naomi in the Book of Ruth this idea was apparent.
In the Genesis narration Joseph’s father, Jacob, sent his sons off to Egypt during a famine in Judah. They were forced to deal with an issue that they had buried: selling their brother Joseph to the Egyptians 13 years earlier! In the Book of Ruth Elimelech and his wife Naomi took their two sons and moved to Moab because of a severe famine in Judah. In the case of Joseph and his brothers God used the famine to reunite them and deal with their unresolved conflict. In the Book of Ruth one of Naomi’s sons had married Ruth, a Moabite, while in Moab. Though the son dies early on in the story Ruth pledges herself to her mother-in-law to return with her to her native homeland after news comes of good crops back home in Judah.
If Naomi and her husband hadn’t of gone to Moab her husband and both sons might not have died. However, because they did go Ruth is brought into the family. The important point here is that eventually from Ruth’s loins came the offspring that continued the family line through which the Messiah would come into the world!
As Mary reflected on these stories she realized that her afflictions were not always the fruit of her lifestyle nor did it seem to matter if it was. What Mary saw was how God uses what man means for evil for His and their good. Mary thought of Romans 8:28 “all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose”. Mary had a new perspective on her situation right now. It arose from handing over the burden of responsibility and guilt of their financial situation to God. With new eyes Mary recognized that her momentary and light affliction was working for her a greater glory. Perhaps it would be important for Robin and Mary to move to Windsor during this time. But Mary felt it was okay at this point because after reading how the two Old Testament stories ended she realized if God had a purpose for her life it might mean moving from this small town they lived in now. Perhaps the famine in their own life was to move them out of this town for that one purpose alone: to lead them into fulfilment of God’s destiny for their lives in Windsor.
Mary was elated by this revelation. Perhaps it came coincidentally or just maybe it came because she had let go of the burden of guilt and responsibility of everything including their debt. Mary smiled happily to herself. That was wonderful. Why, what was even more wonderful was that just yesterday she prayed in the car with Robin for one gift alone this Christmas from God: to know God’s will for her life. It seemed to Mary that on her journey of faith God had used everything even a guilt complex to ultimately get her to this place and begin to show her His will for her life. Mary would not resist God any longer and this decision to move to Windsor. It was timely and right and just as their Patriarchal forefathers had moved as God compelled them He was moving Mary and Robin now. Mary smiled again as she realized she didn’t need to feel guilty about wanting to move – perhaps that desire was put there by God just as it must have been for Naomi and her family.
Mary wasn’t sure what would meet them if and when they moved to Windsor but it was not about all the “what ifs”. The question she should be asking she realized should not be a self-absorption or preoccupation with what she should do. The question should be “who was her God in all this?” The answer to that, Mary realized, would come daily as she took the journey with God, each step of the way, day by day and so far God had been good and faithful in her life. And this God was the one that was and always would be. Amen, to that brother? Amen.