Without a doubt, our times and future are uncertain. With the pandemic, political changes, and personal crises, we’re in uncharted territory. Leaving some feeling as if they’re in social, physical, spiritual, or relational exile. Where can we find direction and strength for the journey?

Another Uncertain Time

The Jews struggled with a similar crisis of faith when they faced life in exile after the unimaginable happened. For some, the devastation of Jerusalem destroyed their trust in God. Had he forgotten them? Or was he powerless to save them from the Babylonians? The displaced Jews’ greatest desire was to return to the familiar routines of yesterday. Should they put their lives on hold until their dreams could become a reality? Yet, their exile experience dragged on with no foreseeable end. Despite their despair, God sent them a message through a letter from Jeremiah, the prophet.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

Jeremiah 29:4

Wait! The exile was God’s doing? Yes, precisely what he warned the Israelites would happen if they worshiped other gods (Deuteronomy 30:17-18). Rather than the exile resulting from God’s weakness, it was proof of his power. And his love. Like a devoted parent, God devised his discipline for redemption, not destruction. So, how could the Jews not just survive but thrive?

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.… 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.

Jeremiah 29:5, 7

God promised to remove their shame and restore their honor but not yet.

When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to [Jerusalem]. For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:10-11

Message for Today

Although God may not always be the author of illness, he is the designer of deliverance, even if it’s not when or how we expect. He knows where we are and what we face. Plus, he has a purpose and a plan to accomplish it through the people he’s created and called. What if instead of viewing our current circumstances as a detour, we saw them as a new road? A road that will lead us to the hope and future God has planned. We can never move forward while looking backward. To navigate the uncertain terrain ahead, we must stay close to our guide, following in his footsteps and trusting his love. Jeremiah might tell us to quit pining for yesterday, put life in order today, and plan for tomorrow. God is reaching out his hand. Will we take it?

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