'The abundance in the
land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so
severe.' Genesis 41:31
In one dream we have
seven really healthy cows and in the other seven really healthy ears of corn.
One would expect the healthy cows to consume the sickly ones and the healthy
grain to consume the weak, thin ones. But the fact is, as Joseph mentions in
verses 30, 31, as abundant, (maybe unbelievably abundant), as those first seven
years' harvests would be, the seven years that follow would be so terrible as
to wipe away all memory of the amazing harvests that went before.
God can bless us more
abundantly than we ever dreamed. We may have extraordinary experiences of his
goodness, mercy, provision, and protection, and wonder why he has blessed us
so? But when famine comes; when there is little sign of his blessing and
everything is going wrong and it seems unending, and we wonder what awaits us
in the future and where God is in it all, it is so easy to forget the
extraordinary things God did in the past. That is why, frequently in the bible,
God calls us to remember what he has done, what we have seen and heard and
experienced. He would not do that if it wasn't that he knows our natural
inclination to so quickly forget.
'Only be careful, and
watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have
seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your
children and to their children after them,' Deuteronomy 4:9
'Remember that you
were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a
mighty hand and an outstretched arm,' Deuteronomy 5:15.
'You may say to
yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them
out?” But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to
Pharaoh and all Egypt,' Deuteronomy 7:17,18
' Dear Lord, when
winter comes and darkness abounds and we have no sense of you, help us to
remember the wonders of your grace in the past, and not to forget what we
experienced of your love. Help us to put our trust in you, knowing that however
long we may have to wait, be it seven years or seventy, you will bring us
through the darkness into the light again. Amen.' God bless you all
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