Hope and a Future
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'”
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
“Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar.”
Jeremiah 29:1 NLT
As Christians, does it ever feel like we’re strangers living in a hostile world? We try to do what God wants us to do, but we’re constantly faced with temptations and evils all around us. How are we supposed to keep our faith when we’re surrounded by unbelievers who don’t understand it? The people of Judah living in exile in Babylon were going through the same thing. Their banishment from the promised land was a result of their disobedience, and now they were called to do better — not easy while living in a pagan nation. But while they were there, the prophet Jeremiah sent them a message of hope . . .
“In the Lower Story, Judah is in exile. God’s special people are doing their best to make it as strangers in a strange land. Because of their skills and work ethic — and because Babylon is enjoying a period of prosperity — they have decent jobs and are able to care for their families. They get up. Go to work. Pick up their kids at school. Eat dinner together. Go to bed. And start all over the next day. Where once they were God’s chosen people, now they are surrounded by pagans. They long for something better. Sound familiar?”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
God’s chosen people were living in a pagan nation ruled by a powerful king. God called them to stay true to their faith while in a foreign land, surrounded by evil and temptations. So, how should they do this? Should they stay isolated to protect themselves from the unbelievers surrounding them? Should they just hunker down and wait for rescue? Actually, no. Here’s what God told them to do:
“Build homes and plan to stay; plant vineyards, for you will be there many years. Marry and have children, and then find mates for them and have many grandchildren. Multiply! Don’t dwindle away! And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray for her, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.”
Jeremiah 29:5-7 TLB
God let them know that they were going to be there awhile, and He instructed them to make Babylon their home. He warned them to be wary of false prophets and to remain faithful to God. But He also told them to work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. He told them to pray for the nation that was now their home.
Daniel and his friends, as we learned last week, did just that. They worked diligently for the king, while maintaining a strong faith in God. In fact, it’s their faith that made them such upright citizens and trustworthy workers. And even when their devout faith went against the king’s orders, God used them in miraculous ways to cause even these pagan kings to praise God!
“Daniel and his three friends were deported to Babylon to be trained as elders in the king’s court. Not only did they outperform their contemporaries and rise in their positions, but they also maintained their pure devotion to God in a foreign land. As a result, even the kings of Babylon and Persia acknowledged and praised God.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
So, what’s the lesson for us? I think it’s to embrace the time and place in which we were born and do our best to serve God faithfully wherever we are. Be upright citizens. Be responsible employees. Be honest in all we do. And above all, maintain a strong faith in God. We aren’t called to hide from the world. We are called to shine! Because God wants even the “pagans” all around us to find their way to Him.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:16 ESV
“The truth is this: You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:10-11 TLB
The truth is: This world is not our home. As followers of Christ, we are citizens of heaven. Like the ancient Israelites, we, too, are living in exile. We are called to remain faithful to God and serve to the best of our ability wherever we are. And we are called to shine God’s light to everyone around us.
But let’s face it, this is hard. This world is broken, and it’s full of heartache and pain. And some of the suffering we endure is a result of our own disobedience. But God’s words spoken through Jeremiah still ring true for us today: “I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and bring you home again” (Jeremiah 29:10 TLB).
“I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.”
Psalm 39:12 TLB
We won’t be here forever. Through faith in Christ, our sins have been forgiven. So, we won’t have to suffer for them forever. God will fulfill His promises, and there is a future hope for us. But while we wait, we still have work to do. God will bring us home someday, but in the meantime, He wants us to show others the way!
“As Christians, we live in our own type of ‘Babylon’ today. This world is not our home. We are citizens of heaven, the new kingdom to come. As the people of Judah looked forward to going back home to Jerusalem, we look forward to going home to the New Jerusalem. And as we wait, we should seek to work in excellence and integrity, walking in pure devotion to God regardless of the cost.”
Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story
This week’s Scripture passages remind us that we even as exiles, we are called to live godly lives. We are not to conform to this world, but we are not to hide from it either. As we serve the Lord enthusiastically, we shine our light to others and show them they way to repentance. So, be filled with hope, serve faithfully, and wait for the Lord. He will fulfill His promises for a wonderful future with Him!
“We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”
Titus 2:12-13 NLT
References:
- “Exile.” YouTube, uploaded by BibleProject, 26 April 2018, https://youtu.be/xSua9_WhQFE?si=pAJ3zSps7hmIGBpm.
- Frazee, Randy. The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
- The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.
Images:
- All images taken from “Exile.” YouTube, uploaded by BibleProject, 26 April 2018, https://youtu.be/xSua9_WhQFE?si=pAJ3zSps7hmIGBpm.
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!