Have you have ever been in exile?

Honestly, most of us haven’t experienced exile in the way it’s described in Jeremiah. When I think of exile in an American culture or any land of freedom, I think more along the lines of one’s mind. What were the Exiles feeling when they had been captured and taken to Babylon, when all their hopes and dreams were crushed, families were dead, and cities were burned? They probably were feeling pretty terrified, hopeless, discouraged, grieved, anxious, and very depressed.

Now you may not have gone through what they did, but you might have experienced these feelings before for different reasons; you might be living in the now. It doesn’t necessarily matter what caused the fear, grief, depression, anxiety, discouragement and hopelessness; what matters is you’re there, and they feel very real to you.

God told Jeremiah to write a letter to those who were in Babylon, waiting for their return to their land of promise. None of them expected this to last long; they expected God to come and rescue them immediately. Jeremiah knew just how long they would be there: God had told him 70 years.  Jeremiah was called to give instructions on what to do in their exile.

Jeremiah 29:4-14
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.”

When they hear these things, the people’s hearts get angry and even more discouraged: they will have to live in these conditions for 70 years! They will not be able to return. Their little children will grow up in exile. They will have to live among their enemies, and serve them. When you look at it this way, these words don’t sound very encouraging. Who wants to live like this in the land of exile?

But the instructions are clear and even in these, I can see the love of God. When I first read these passages, I saw them as a sign of hope; even now as I see it.  Even in exile they are able to live their lives and prosper, if only they do what God asks; He will hear their cry, and He will return them. If only they’re obedient, they would be able to return more numerous than they are now and fill the land with more than just their small number of people. Even though they are in bondage, they will be able to have the freedom to live out their lives and not simply die in a foreign land.

How do we apply this to your life now, in your exile of the feelings you’re struggling with or the seasons you’re navigating?

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.

This could simply mean to just continue on, not to sit in misery, self-pity or anger. It’s okay to feel the feelings, but don’t let them stop you from living life. Don’t let them stop you from doing the things that are needing to be done. Don’t stop caring for the people that you love. Don’t dwell in the hopelessness.

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.

This one speaks for itself!  This is what they should have been doing in their own land in the beginning, but they neglected to do this. Now, they have to learn in a foreign land.

Intercede. We get to intercede on behalf of our country and city and neighborhood. One thing I love about interceding is that it normally turns your heart away from yourself and on to others. It helps you see the people around you with more compassion and love. When you start doing that it actually starts to put your own perspective in the right place. Sometimes you start to see your own problems are not as big as they seemed before; you start thinking of how best to love that person and not dwell on your own issues. Both are very helpful in the healing process. It can also bring a much needed joy.

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…

Make sure the advice you’re listening to is truly from the Lord, even if it’s not advice you want to hear. Don’t just seek things that sound pretty and are exactly what you want. Don’t seek advice from people only: seek advice from the Lord.

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.

Sometimes it’s hard to wait for the healing or answers. You seek them to drown out all of the hopelessness and confusion that these emotions or seasons bring. God’s timing is perfect; He knows just what you need, and when you will even be willing to listen to Him. It might not come the way you want it, but He is a good God. He is someone who can be trusted to write your story; He is someone who understands it fully and knows where He wants to take you. He wants you to trust him. He wants you to look forward to the things that He has for you. He is excited to give you these things and to walk through these things with you, if you will just wait, listen, and walk with Him.

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…

There are times when He’s speaking to you, and you can’t hear Him because your heart isn’t right and you’re not truly listening. When your heart is ready and you do seek Him, He will be there.

…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.”

He will heal and restore you. There is hope in all circumstances no matter what it is you’re walking through. God can do great things. He wants you to walk in faith and trust in Him no matter what the circumstances. Ultimately, your hope is in Him, no matter if things ever get better for you in this lifetime. He wants you to cling to Him. Truly the prize and hope in the end is to see Him face to face and live with Him forever, no matter what this earthly life brings.

I have been here in a few different seasons in my life in different ways. I have felt hopeless, depressed, afraid, and grieved. It felt like those seasons would never end. There was no hope. There was no reason to continue on. I didn’t know what my purpose was. I didn’t know why God had me there. I didn’t want to be there, and I was angry. I didn’t think God cared about where I was. It felt like He had dumped me there and left me. There were times when it was really hard to hear His voice and it felt like I was talking to the ceiling, having my prayers just bounce back at me. It was very painful.

There was a season when I knew I could hear God’s voice, but it was hard to go to Him because it felt like He was the one that was causing my pain. I loved Him very much and I knew the things He was doing in my life were good, but these were very hard lessons to learn, and I didn’t like them. It felt confusing and everything was new and disorienting; I just wanted it to be normal again. But God didn’t want it to be the same. He wanted my heart and my mind to change. He was working on me. In time He began to heal the pain it left behind.

This makes me think of is an idea in Jeremiah that shows up many times. God talks about a wound that He has inflicted on His people, a wound that cannot be healed, but later when He talks about their redemption, He talks about how He will heal that wound.

Jeremiah 30:12-14 &17
For thus says the Lord: ‘Your affliction is incurable, Your wound is severe. There is no one to plead your cause, That you may be bound up; You have no healing medicines. All your lovers have forgotten you; They do not seek you; For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of your iniquities, Because your sins have increased.
For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord

Sometimes the pain comes from the circumstances around us. Sometimes the pain is caused by a work God is doing in our life, pruning things out of our life. Either way they are all hard and He knows that; the work He wants to do is greater than the pain that is caused. In the end the healing and the beauty that comes out of it makes for a greater story of God’s redemption.

I can truly say that I am the better person because of it. I can also say that my relationship with God is in a much better place than where it was when all of this started. I am still learning to trust Him through the pain even though it’s not my favorite thing and I don’t always do a good job. I am less afraid of it now than I was when I started, because God knows what He’s doing and He is trustworthy.  He is good and He is much greater than anything on this earth.

These are the thing we can do in our Exile. These are the reasons that there is still hope. One thing that really got me through some of these moments was thanking the Lord for who He is, all of His attributes and characteristics, thanking Him for all the things He has done for me.

My challenge for you this week is to put these things into action, no matter how long the process is.  Something you can write in the comments this week are things we can pray for you in whatever season you are in.