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2 Samuel 21:1

¹During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death."

When the weather conditions were severe so that they suffered a lack of food, David sought the face of the LORD. He did not think it was just cycles. He did not consider it coincidence or natural phenomenon. He looked to God for the reason behind this "natural" problem. When we seek, we will find.

God spoke to David. We do not know how. It may have been audible, or it may have been in his heart. It could have been through one of the prophets. The answer was that the land was experiencing the judgment of God for something that had happened years earlier. Saul had violated the ancient covenant that Joshua made with the Gibeonites. Pretending they had come from a far-off country, they had tricked Israel into a peace treaty. Nevertheless, the covenant was made. Saul made war on them, breaking this ancient treaty.

There are times in life when we face the consequences of another's actions. It is not always clear why there are problems, but it could be God balancing the books. If we seek the face of the LORD, He may show us some way to rectify the imbalance so that God can justly bless the land again with rain. Often it will be something in our own life. It may be an apology that needs to be made, or forgiveness that needs to be granted.

Consider: Trials may come from our own failures or others' failures, but there is always a lesson to be learned if we will seek the face of the LORD.