“You
Will Seek Me And Find Me”
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. 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.” 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. They are prophesying
lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord.
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. 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. Then you will call on me
and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the
Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the
nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will
bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
Jeremiah 29:4-14
God
sent the people of Israel into exile in Babylon, He told them to serve Him in
that foreign land and grow in faith until He brought them back to their home.
God
urged them not to ignore or be trapped by events of the past but instead to
focus on Him and look ahead. The Lord’s forgiveness can transform the memory of
our sorrow into confidence in His everlasting love.
God can use our deepest disappointments to nurture our
faith in Him.
Our
Daily Bread – May 5, 2017