Jeremiah 29

I've been meditating lately on the work that suffering does to reveal our weakness and frailty. My walk with Christ can look pretty stellar right up to the point where God sticks out his proverbial foot and trips me. When this happens, my go-to is worry and anger and sin and crap. How easy is it to forget the big picture in the midst of a trial!? It seems like every time this happens, i'll somehow go dumb and blind, ceasing to remember the work of Christ and the promise of eternal life. It's like my mind goes right to selfish and stupid thoughts such as "I deserve..." and "woe is me".

In the midst of this, I've been encouraged by the words of Jeremiah 29. Israel is in captivity in Babylon and are downright confused as to what they should be doing in this new territory. They have lots of false prophets telling them to do some wack crap and are largely without a leader. It's here that Jeremiah speaks a word from the Lord:

4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, [1] 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare [2] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

It is God that directs our steps, even into places where we are going to suffer. But we have hope and a promise, that he is doing all things for the good of those who love him, and that he shall deliver us into the kingdom of his son.

May God write this upon our hearts and cause us to remember.