Jeremiah 29: 4-10

4. “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

5.‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

6. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

7. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

8. “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

9. ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord.

10. “For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians have sacked Jerusalem and Judah. They have taken into captivity several thousands of Israelites to Babylon. The Israelites, who disobeyed God despite repeated warnings by God through His prophets, saw with their own eyes the utter destruction of their beloved city and their holy temple. God, in His infinite mercy and everlasting love for His people, inspired Jeremiah, the prophet to write these words. Jeremiah sent this letter to the elders, priests and all the people who were in exile.

God, instead of breathing down condemnation on a people who were living in exile in fear, encouraged them to move on with their lives. He neither abandoned them nor forgot them. On the contrary, He showed them mercy and granted favor in the sight of the Babylonians. Here, He is instructing them to live their lives as normally as possible. This instance prompts us to ask the question: ‘which conquering nation would allow its conquered subjects to build houses, gardens, assimilate into their society and lead productive lives?’ We can see how the Lord’s hand has guided the Israelites, protected them and prospered them in a strange land. Even though, they were slaves of Babylon, they did not live like slaves. Furthermore, God instructs them to pray for the welfare of the city of Babylon. Because in the prosperity of Babylon, lies the prosperity of the Israelites. Even in captivity, the Israelites flourished. In addition, God gives them the timeline of their return to Jerusalem.

We, as children of God, may be in dire situations: enslaved by our circumstances, stagnant and unhappy with career, life, finances, etc., battling a health crisis, nursing elderly parents or a sick person, waiting for a breakthrough, or some other situation. We may think that life has come to a standstill. Despite endless prayers, we don’t seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our circumstances have not improved. We don’t see any of God’s promises being fulfilled. Life seems to be on hold. Day after day, month after month, year after year, time seems to be rolling by, while you remain where you were.

As disheartening as this sounds, take heart, my fellow saint! Go about your life as normally as possible. Live your life as God commanded you to. Remain faithful and steadfast in His love. Live in anticipation that the breakthrough will come any moment. Just because we don’t see the result we are expecting, doesn’t mean that God is not working. God has set a time for the return of the exiles back to Jerusalem. He didn’t say how they were going to return. The Israelites may have thought that God will wipe out the Babylonians and miraculously, He will take them back to Judea just like He did when He brought them out of Egypt. History tells us that Babylonians were overthrown by Medes and they in turn were conquered by the Persians. Through His prophet Isaiah, He said that during the reign of Cyrus, the remnant will return.

Life may be at a standstill but our Sovereign Lord is still on the throne. Nothing happens outside of His will for His children. All He wants is our utmost obedience. All He desires is our utmost loyalty. All He asks is our utmost trust. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’ Jeremiah 29: 11 When our Lord has the perfect plan for our prosperity, for our future, why then should we worry? Let us go about our daily lives diligently, honestly and expectantly. We may be in captivity, but our souls are free. We may be enslaved, but our hearts are grateful. We may be confined to our circumstances, but our lives are bursting with joy. Let us not allow our circumstances to keep us captive but let us allow God to prosper us even in our captivity.