We all wonder what God is up to at times. So
many confusing things happen, and we question how this could fit into God’s
plans. Why are these difficult problems in my life, and why aren’t they getting
better? Why do difficult people surround me? Why do our prayers seem to go
unanswered? Is He letting things happen that bring me harm? The definition of
faith is trusting God when we don’t know what is happening. There are those
moments though when we look back with insight and say, “Now I know why that
happened.”
The prophet Jeremiah wrote a letter to the
exiles in Babylon. The deportees were wondering where God was at and what He
was doing. It felt like He had forgotten them. Psalm 137 gives a little insight
into the mental mindset of the people. They were living in Babylon, but all
they longed for was to go back to Jerusalem. They were sad and defeated. They
were a depressed people who hung up their instruments, and at the same time
they had hung up all their aspirations. When given the opportunity to share
some joy with someone, they had none to share. They lived as if any day they
would receive word that their captivity was over and they would be going back
home. They held resentment and terrible hatred toward their captors. They
wished for the worst to come upon these Babylonian tyrants. They thought that
Jerusalem was their only source of joy—their highest joy as they called it. But
it had been plundered and destroyed by the ravaging armies of Nebuchadnezzar
(Ps 137:1-9).
Jeremiah’s letter told them to "Build
houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have
sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in
marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number
there; do not decrease. Also, 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 29:5-8).
Notice the verbs: build, settle, plant, eat,
marry, have, find, give, seek, and pray. Remember this word comes from the Lord
to His people in a time when they are in exile. At a time when their world has
been turned upside down. They are being held captive against their will and
prohibited from returning home, and yet God tells them to put down roots and
establish His presence in this city they don’t like.
Then the letter said this, "When seventy
years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious
promise to bring you back to this place. 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” (Jer 29:10-11).
When you understand that God’s promises of
hope are plans to prosper His people while they are in the middle of their
lonely trials, that changes your life. He plans to do this not by taking them
out but by teaching them how to live where they live. God works in the middle
of our afflictions. While we may want to escape our difficult circumstances in
life, God wants to encourage us with the plans He as for us right where we are.
Jeremiah encouraged the Israelites in Babylon
to work on their families. Raise families and help your children to raise
families. Your business won’t matter at the end of your life. Your fame won’t
matter. Your accomplishments won’t matter in the end, but your relationship
with your family will matter. It can be a grind to work on your family.
Sometimes it is easier to do something else or even start a new family.
However, the rich fulfillment from a family that loves each other takes a lot
of hard work.
