2 Kings 7:18-20 (NLT)
18 The man of God had said to the king, “By this time tomorrow in the markets of Samaria, five quarts of choice flour will cost one piece of silver, and ten quarts of barley grain will cost one piece of silver.” 19 The king’s officer had replied, “That couldn’t happen even if the Lord opened the windows of heaven!” And the man of God had said, “You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won’t be able to eat any of it!” 20 And so it was, for the people trampled him to death at the gate!

Samaria was in desperate need of rescue; Ben-hadad the king of Aram had gathered his forces and besieged the city Samaria. The siege lasted so long a famine swept over the city. A donkey’s head sold at the Markey for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver. There was such a hardship some had turned to cannibalism. One woman told the King, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.” The hard times had many discouraged including the King, but the prophet Elisha said the Lord would change their situation to one that was incredibly good. The king’s officer mocked Elisha’s comments and the Lord and said there was no way the Lord could help them. He died before he had a chance to partake of the bountiful supply of food, which was suddenly left behind by the Arameans.

Life is not always easy and hard times can come upon us just as it did during the Great Depression. The depression had devastating effects in industrial and exporting countries. Trade amounts sharply declined. There was a sharp decline in personal income, tax revenue, prices and profits. Farmers were hit hard as prices for their crops fell 40-60%. Severe drought hit the heartland of America in 1930, the year following the stock market fall. Those farmers who were already hit hard were now faced with devastating times. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as farming, mining and logging suffered the most. Although the country faced financial ruin, the leadership of our great country continued to acknowledge the thankfulness of what we had and gave credit to Almighty God for watching after us. In his Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation of 1932, President Hoover quoted George Washington saying, “Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor - and Whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness." We all need to remember the blessings of our God. We need to praise Him for taking us through the difficult times. We need to acknowledge His establishment of our great nation and government that has given us safety and peace. May the Lord bless us all.