Psalm 107:33-38

When you think of God’s blessing, not only does it extend to people and livestock, but it also extends to the land itself. As we can see here, God can take a fruitful land and hold back the rain as he did in Elijah’s day, and He can also create rivers out of the desert as in Moses’ day.

Think of the days of Joseph. It was during his lifetime that Pharaoh of Egypt was warned through a pair of dreams of years of plenty to come that would then be followed by years of famine wiping out any excess of the years prior. God used Joseph to interpret the dreams for Pharaoh thus earning Joseph a quick promotion from prison to #2 in all of Egypt. (You can read the account in Genesis 41).

At times, we experience years plenty that come into our lives where we have excess. What do we do with that excess? Joseph wisely instructed Pharaoh to basically “save some crops for a rainy day” by taking a fifth of the produce each year and store it to be used during the years of famine.

Many lives were saved, including Joseph’s relatives, because Pharaoh heeded Joseph’s advice and Joseph made Pharaoh a very rich man purchasing basically all of the land in Egypt for Pharaoh in exchange for the grain.

In today’s day and age with people living paycheck to paycheck, it becomes difficult to save. There are many factors that go into that but suffice to say, we have done our best to live by the 10-10-80 principle. The first 10% of our earnings is a tithe to God and a type of saving because we are sowing into God’s Kingdom which is the best investment you can make and He always pays dividends ? It also shows that our trust is in God to provide for our needs. The second 10% is saved and we live off the 80%. Just because you have it doesn’t mean you have to spend it. Save it for a rainy day for rainy days come.

Life is about preparation. As I have heard it said, “A crisis is only something you are not prepared for,” and, “It’s better to look ahead and prepare, than to look back and regret.

That’s wisdom right there!