"I'm starving!" It's a common understatement, isn't it? In America that usually means that someone is feeling extra hungry by the time their next meal comes around. We take for granted that our stomachs will soon be full, not to mention our taste buds satisfied.
But when the message comes from loved ones in the barren wastes of Kenya, the reality is that there is nothing left to satisfy their need. Hunger is all too common during the tight famine months. They learn to live with an inner emptiness, hoping their strength will hold out until some food can be obtained. Forget taste buds or being full, they are thinking only about surviving.
We've heard little from Makindu these past months: a ministers' meeting was held in July at the Bible Center, and more recently Lawrence has been called out to minister to some that seem hungry for spiritual instruction in Nairobi. But we've known the famine has been on, and our recent update verifies that.
The dear brother wrote: I cannot write long and much, for now. I am far from home and use a computer only when I can get to it. I have been away for about three weeks now and I am not sure when I go back home. I am in real danger where I am now, but souls and bodies are being touched by the Lord. That is all that matters to me. Please, pray on.
I understand that they are starving in my home and congregation. Please, pray.
It must have been difficult to hear such news when he was so far away, and unable to provide for them. But when the needs go past our resources, God is not limited. Praise the Lord, it wasn't long before brother Lawrence was able to send back the word that an offering had been given just when they needed it most. What relief to know that there would be something to eat, to keep life sustained and renew hope again!
Most of us haven't ever experienced the stark prospect of starving to death. But there is more to life than our physical bodies - there are the needs of spirit and soul. How often have you faced an emotional crisis or worried over what to do, feeling deep inside the gnawing emptiness of fear? Or just when you need strength to meet the trials of life, you find yourself crumbling under the pressure? Fear and despair can be just as deadly as living without food. Without peace, our soul starves. How can we survive without it?
I'm so thankful that the One who created us with these basic needs also knows how to provide for them! Recently I felt my lack of peace and started to get a bit desperate feeling. I didn't want to be stressed, but I was. Positive thoughts and disciplined effort didn't change anything. What was my problem? I didn't know, but I knew God did. At first praying didn't seem to change anything, but I set my hope on getting help. And I wasn't sent away empty! "Let not your heart be troubled... believe in Me." Have you ever realized the comfort of those words? Believe in Me, Jesus says, just take My Hand and realize that I am all you need.
The whole chapter of John 14 shows us that our source of peace can never be outside of Jesus. The thought of the promised "Comforter" blessed me especially - the One "beside me when I call" is the literal translation, and that was exactly what I needed. The security of His presence, His ability, His power and understanding. Here is the wonderful fulfillment of Jesus' promise to give us His peace that is unaffected by trouble or fear (verse 27). What a comfort to be filled!
Are you starving for peace today? There is a full supply in Jesus, if you are hungry enough to seek it!
