We Need God's Word to Nourish Us
Note from today’s Bible reading: Amos 6-9; 2 Chronicles 27; Isaiah 9-12
Amos revealed God’s warning of a famine coming against the land of Israel (Amos 8:11). A natural disaster like a famine can be devastating for a nation. However, God explained that this was “not a famine for bread of a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11).
In those days, prophets like Amos revealed God’s word to the people. But because the people had disregarded the prophets’ message for so long, God told them that He would stop sending His word to those who refused to hear it. Though they might “seek the word of the Lord,” they would “not find it” (Amos 8:12). A physical famine would cause even the strongest among them to fall. Similarly, this famine for the word of God would affect everyone, even those who should be the most resilient (Amos 8:13).
Today, we are fortunate that we do not need to wait for God to reveal His word through a prophet. We have His will revealed to us in the Scriptures (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). However, we can neglect God’s word as they did and suffer the same effects of this spiritual famine.
So remember that we need God’s word to nourish us. Without it, we cannot survive, spiritually speaking. However, if we use the word He has revealed, we can grow stronger, healthier, and better equipped to do what God has called us to do.