Stocking The Pantry

T

he sound of the doorbell let me know mom was back.  She had been gone for a little over an hour and now she needed our help.  The routine was always the same whenever she returned from the grocery store.  She would haul the bags to the porch and we would carry them into the kitchen or set them in front of the pantry door.  When all the bags were in the house, we put the groceries away, emptying the bags and filling the pantry.

This activity hasn’t stopped.  On Saturday mornings I make my weekly pilgrimage to the grocery store, buy my groceries, put them in the car, carry them in the house, and put them away.  Every week, my pantry gets restocked with vegetables, bread, cereal, rice, sugar etc.  Although I don’t really enjoy the hour I spend in the grocery store every week, I am glad I have a place to store my provisions. When the need strikes, I can simply grab something from the pantry and fix myself something to eat.  The lesson my mom taught me several years ago still rings true today.  If you take the time to stock the pantry, you will always have something to eat.

This lesson, however, did not originate with my mother.  For years, people have lived by this rule. Did you know we can go all the way back to Old Testament times to see this idea in action?  The story is a familiar one but the truth it contains has several applications to our lives today.

Hard times were coming to the land of Egypt.  Pharaoh’s dreams warned of an unprecedented famine in Egypt and the surrounding countries that would take place seven years in the future.  God revealed the meaning of the dreams to Joseph and he gave Pharaoh the interpretation. Joseph also provided a solution to the problem and Pharaoh set him in charge of the land of Egypt.

Joseph’s solution was simple: Stock the pantry!  Joseph’s plan was to put 20% of Egypt’s crops into storage for seven years so that they would have plenty in the years of famine. In Genesis 41:36 Joseph explains his plan “This food should be held in reserve for the country to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”

Joseph knew there were hard times ahead and he knew that if Egypt stored her grain, there would be food in times of trouble.  This principle is the same for us in our daily walk with God.  His word is full of promises and blessings that we experience each and every day if we spend time with him.  Spending time in God’s word is the same as stocking our spiritual pantries.  We take from his abundance and keep it in our spiritual storehouses.  In times of great difficulty or trial, we can then go to the pantry and feed on the truths we have stored there.  But if we fail to store his word, if we fail to spend time with him on a regular basis, we will have nothing from which to draw in times of hardship and spiritual famine.

The lesson of the pantry is a good one.  Sometime today, you will venture into your pantry or cabinets for something to eat or drink.  When you open that door, stop for a minute and ask yourself these questions, “How well have I stocked my spiritual pantry?  Is there food enough for the lean times ahead?”