READING: Jeremiah 29-32
“Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to.”
Jeremiah 29:7
Sometimes we find ourselves in places we don’t want to be. Perhaps it was a job change that took you to a new city. Maybe it was a move to be closer to work. It might have been a move to “greener grass,” but you found the new grass to be brown. Or, in the case of the Hebrews in Jeremiah 29, it might have been a move under the discipline of God to teach you about His care.
The Hebrews were in bondage in Babylon because of their history of sin. The false prophet Hananiah had proclaimed that their stay in Babylon would be short, but that was not the word the Lord gave to Jeremiah:
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” (Jer. 29:5-7)
While this text first applied to the Hebrews, we can learn lessons to apply when we find ourselves in a place we don’t want to be. First, we need to trust God even if His plans mean we’re going to stay here awhile. What seems so long to us is not long to God—and His timing is always perfect. Second, we need to settle down and trust Him. For the Hebrews, that meant living there long enough to raise generations of children. Third, we must pray for the place where we live. When we pray for the well-being of a city, God somehow turns our heart toward that city.
If you’re in a place you don’t want to be, settle down. Trust God. Pray for the city. Be a light in the darkness where God has placed you.
ACTION STEPS:
- Consider whether you are in a place where you don’t want to be. If you are, trust God.
- Pray now for your community and city.
PRAYER: “God, grant me grace to be faithful even if I don't want to be where I am.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 33-37
