For the plans I have for you are plans to prosper you and
not to harm you. Jeremiah 29:11
This is a wonderful and well known verse in the book of
Jeremiah. It was spoken by the prophet to
the exiles of Jerusalem, who were taken to Babylon. The context of the verse shows that the Lord
wanted them to prosper in a foreign land without leaving the country.
When things get tough, our natural response is to want to escape.
The Lord desired the Israelites to
prosper where they were even though Babylon was not their true home. In fact God told them to pray for the land
that it would be blessed. The logic was
that if Babylon was blessed they would be blessed also. The Lord through Jeremiah told God’s people
to marry and have sons and daughters and have their daughters marry as
well. God promised to one day bring them
back to their land, but that time was not at hand.
In our fast-paced world, we have a tendency to always want
to know the new thing that God is doing.
We want the breakthrough, we want the ultimate blessing, but sometimes
God wants us to prosper where we are. We
have to learn to be content even in the midst of contrary circumstances.
The Israelites did not want to live in a foreign land, but
they made the best of it. We are to
bloom where we are planted. In God’s
timing, we will possess the land of promise.
No comments:
Post a Comment