I hate discussing politics, it’s easy to be offended or offend others no matter what you believe. As a Christian there is the added element of feeling like I need to vote for the right candidate (the one that God would pick of course). At this point, with the options presented, I have to trust that God puts leaders of nations in place for a reason, and that this year will be no different. I do believe that our nation has issues and that we will continue to have issues. We also have passionate people who are on opposing sides of political and social issues. We are not a nation at ease and rest. I know my vote doesn’t impact government on a national level. I am left to my small area of influence in my own life to impact the lives of those around me.
Recently I’ve been thinking of making some life changes. Decisions weigh heavily upon me; to move to a different community, whose lives to be involved in and what ministries to be part of in these potential changes. These decisions weigh even more heavily because while I can’t control national influence, I can choose where to be involved at on a personal level.
I have heard Jeremiah 29:11 my entire life. It is on plaques in churches, on greeting cards, and one of the few verses that most people in the Christian community have heard, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” I can still sing the song that goes along with this verse that I learned as a shy, squeaky 4 year old. Growing up I always thought this verse mean that no matter what, life was supposed to be good with God. As an adult, I suppose it depends on how you define “good” and what you place value in.
The context of the Jeremiah passage had to do with Israel being exiled to Babylon. Their entire nation was captured and it is not what I would define as “good.” God spoke to the surviving elders, priests, prophets and people taken into exile. They were in a broken place in life. They would have lost family, homes, and their own identities (with names being changed from their Israelite names to Babylonian names in some instances as this is the time of Daniel). I would image, that anyone in this situation would be crying out to God to be rescued. Instead, God tells them this: Jeremiah 29:5-11
“This
is what the Lord Almighty, the God
of Israel, says to all those I carried into
exile from Jerusalem
to Babylon: Build
houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 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.
7 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.” 8 Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty,
the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you
deceive you. Do
not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in
my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. 10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years
are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to
bring you back to this place. 11 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.”
When we look back at Jeremiah 29:4, God does not sugar coat or minimize the Israelite’s infirmities, but in fact, confirms them and even takes ownership over them. He took responsibility for exiling them, not the Babylonians, and He was there with them through it. He also told them to prosper in it and to pray because they would be there a long time, and THEN he would bring them out of it.
It is easy to tell God that you trust Him in the good times. It is hard to live this out when hardships come and our trust is pushed up against our own borders.
When I’m at low points in life, or stressing over life and politics, I generally hope that God’s response is not “settle in for a while because it is staying the same and I’m not fixing this one right away.” For the Israelites, seventy years was a whole life time. He also tells them to increase. Not to hole up and mope, but to prosper in this hard time for them. Just to add a little sting for the Israelites, God asks them to care for the people and the city that just captured them.
This passage made me think of how God has worked in my life and those around me. I plan my life and how I think it should be, yet God continues to maintain the author rights. Wherever I may be located at in life or what is going on in my country, I can impact those around me in a positive way. No, I am not in exile even though it can feel like it or that it is heading that direction. I can struggle and have dark times, or over analyze a situation or conversation and worry about things that I can’t control.
Thank God He knows me better than I know myself, because I can continually look back and see things that have happened for a reason in life even when they seemed void of purpose at the time.
The message He gave to Israel is still valid for us. “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.” In the midst of dark times, He is still present and we can hope for the future that is far beyond our situations and beyond politics.
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