Abundance and Renewal (Amos 9:13-15)

“Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the trader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet honey and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them, they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land which I have given them, says the Lord your God.”

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the sons of God the creation was subject to futility, not of its own will but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage of decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.

The Bible has many scriptures that talk about the coming of the kingdom and what it will be like. It appears that it will be a wondrous and beautiful place, a world of abundance, peace and security. However, today the earth, as we all know it, is under a curse and because of that we must work all the days of our lives to feed our families. Until the curse is lifted, the earth will not give forth its full yield or capabilities. Man pumps millions of tons of chemicals into the land to try and coax better yields from it, but no matter how much man endeavours to try and remove the current curse, he is unable to change what God has ordained. Famine, pestilence, drought and disease are still impacting the yields, and hunger and starvation are still with us, even with all our seemingly vast technology and knowledge. Once again God is teaching man that we cannot do it on our own.

The creation too is waiting eagerly for the curse to be lifted and is looking forward to been set free from its bondage and decay, the earth like us is waiting for a renewal, a time when we will be able to walk with God in His garden again and not be fearful.

May we all look to the future and glorious day that is coming which will bring abundance and renewal for the children of God and his whole creation. Let us pray for that day to come soon. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Bro Gideon Hankamone (Mazabuka, Zambia)