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. ~Jeremiah 29:7 (NIV)
The bible teaches if we belong to the Lord, none of us are home yet. Jesus tells us in John 15:19 “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (NIV) Even though we are only sojourners on this earth, we are called to pray and seek peace and prosperity for ourselves and the people around us where we are at. God tells His people in Jeremiah 29:5-6 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters...Increase in number there; do not decrease.” (NIV) In other words, enjoy your life! To the full! That abundant life Jesus came for you to be able to have. Enjoy where you are on the way to where the Lord is taking you. But we are never going to be able to enjoy where we are at if we are not praying regularly and believing God’s word. Just a simple scripture like Psalms 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord”" (NIV) can bring a sense of peace and even hope to someone who is in doubt about what they should do. The enemy wants to keep us spiritually blind to what God has done for those of us in Christ and what we have in Christ. He wants us to be distracted and confused so we don’t make any progress. But scripture teaches we have the mind of Christ. When you start feeling distracted or confused about anything it’s time to start leaning into God’s word and confessing what He says over your life. How many times have you said, “The Lord has promised to direct my steps" or confessed “I have the mind of Christ, so Lord, please help me to understand your will in this situation”? We shake off our chains and walk out of captivity by faith and that faith has to be solidly grounded in what God has said.
The letter in the 29th chapter of Jeremiah was written to the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon. God’s people were living in captivity under Nebuchadnezzar. In our society today, we live in a different kind of captivity, but it’s captivity just the same. Some of us are captive to our debt, some to our habits, some of us are captive to people and what they think, and some are simply captive to their own wrong ways of thinking. But Jesus said He came to set the captives free, and He does that every time the gospel or good news of God’s grace, His unmerited favor toward mankind, is preached. Have you heard the good news lately that God loves you and is with you and for you? Have you shared that good news lately? God says that we are to settle down, trust in that good news and believe that He has a plan of deliverance for us. Just as any parent wants their children to enjoy every minute of their lives God wants us to also, no matter what the situation. He wants us to believe our best days are ahead and His plans for us are good. In Jeremiah 29 God tells His people to work and increase and pray right where they are at, knowing that their deliverer is coming. We would do well to learn that lesson today.
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. ~Philippians 4:12-13 (NIV)
What captivity has Jesus set you free from?
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