Eat, Build and Pray

This morning, I heard a talk that referenced Jeremiah 29:11, the verse I had referred to in my last post. Since this had come up twice in five days, I thought I should open my Bible to that passage and look at it again.

This little verse--"'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'"--is actually part of a letter the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to God's people in exile in Babylon. This fact immediately adds depth to God's promise of hope. His people have been taken captive and carried in exile away from home. Yet, as reminded in the book of Ruth (written about in the post "Not the End of the Story" ), God doesn't quit in the middle of the hard part. He pushes us through to the other side.

Before Jeremiah 29:11, the letter gives specific purpose and plans for what God's people should do DURING the exile. He does not say to sit and wait for something to happen; He says to get busy! Dig in! Bloom where you're planted! He specifically tells them that during these 70 years of exile, they should build houses, settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce, marry, have kids, increase in number, "seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jer. 29:5-7).

Reading this passage, I am thinking of the several times I have moved to new cities and thinking of all the friends and family who have moved to new cities. It is not easy.

I am also reminded of the more figurative move we make when we go from one season of our lives to another, whether from being single to getting married, having children, starting a new job, experiencing a death. These seasons could all feel like an exile from our comfort zone to a strange new land that we didn't necessarily sign up to visit.

I love the promises of Jeremiah 29:11--that God knows the plans for us, for our future, for hope.

But I also love the wise instruction of Jeremiah 29:5-7 for where we are NOW in life, not the unknown of the future.
--Build
--Settle
--Plant
--Eat
--Seek peace and prosperity
--Pray

How can I do each of these things right here where I am today? In my life, in my family, in my home, in my city...