Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
The overarching message I get from Jeremiah 29 thus far is that even though God has sent the Israelites into exile, even though He has said He will leave them there for 70 years, He isn’t abandoning them. He doesn’t want them miserable. He isn’t inaccessible to them.
Jeremiah 29:14a I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.
Even though He has sent them away, He hasn’t turned His back on them. He wants them to marry, have children, become a part of the community. He wants them to seek Him, to pray to Him. Even though this move is not what the Israelites want, it is part of God’s master plan. They can trust Him. He is with them even now.
Jeremiah 29:14b …I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord,
Lord, I struggle with so much in this text–the need for people to be exiled, the length of the exile, the fact that You tell them to wait, for 70 years, in joyful hope, giving their all each day. What I don’t struggle with is that You are still with them. You still love them deeply. You still listen to their prayers. Help me to cling to what I know–Your deep and abiding love. Help me to trust. Amen.
Jeremiah 29:14c …“and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Have a blessed day.
I, too, struggle with the length of their exile. I struggle with waiting time in my own life. And I have no way to nearly 70 years. Sometimes my wedding is a few months. Sometimes Halloween is a year or two, but not 70 years. I would love to be more reliant, more trusting and more patient in my waiting. I suppose it’s like everything else. We are merely works in progress. We are simply called to see Him and love Him and trust Him.