I gave you absolutely nothing to eat in all your cities, a shortage of food in all your communities, yet you did not return to Me. This is the Lord’s declaration. – Amos 4:6
I’ve never really gone hungry … at least, not of my own accord. I have entered into a couple of extended fasts (a week or more), but no one or no situation has ever forced me to go without something to eat. Having lived in West Africa, I have on occasion witnessed true hunger and the reality is heartbreaking. There is almost always a famine in that part of the world and I am sure that it won’t be the last. Yemen is currently facing a humanitarian crisis that exceeds any other in human history. Personally, I feel that when others are in such need, we have a moral obligation to respond in appropriate, effective ways. Here is one way to find out how https://www.gobgr.org/.
Is it possible for God to use such hunger for His purposes? Yes, but perhaps not as we might initially suppose. God appears to use hunger in the lives of the unbelieving to awaken a response in the hearts of His children (those who believe). We hear or read of the devastating need and respond with food, love, and (hopefully) the gospel. On the other hand, God appears to use “hunger” in the lives of the believing ( be it a lack of food or anything else we deem “necessary” for life) as a tool to draw them back to utter dependence upon His provision.
So, yes, God uses hunger (like all things) to accomplish His purpose and no, it’s not a game. The question for us is as always, “What will we do about it?”
From the gut comes the strut, and where hunger reigns, strength abstains. – Francois Rabelais
