Day 286

Jeremiah 27:1-29:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Psalm 119:25-32

Two things come out of the words from Jeremiah for today. Firstly the instruction to pray for the city of exile and then the great passage of the Lords plans to prosper and not to harm the people.

This instruction to pray for the city of exile mirrors Jesus comment about loving your enemy and not just your friend. “Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends”, and yet it is also pretty loving to pray for someone, to bring them before God and place them in the hands of the almighty. The people would not have wanted to be there and yet Jeremiah is instructing them to offer this love to those around them.

It may also be an indication that they need to submit to God’s timing and not their won. I could quite imagine that they have been praying very hard to return to their own land and Jeremiah  is redirecting their prayers. God will return you when He plans, not in your time, so in the meantime concentrate on the place you are in and the people that you are amongst.

The trouble is, it is hard to wait, especially when you are not in a happy place. So Jeremiah reminds them of the nature of the God in whom they believe, the fact that he will not let them endure more than they can cope with, that his ultimate plan is for their prosperity and so they will not be in exile for ever.

There are times when I seem to have taken myself into exile from God, or at least circumstances have. In those times I know that there is still a plan and it is not for my harm.

Do you feel in exile at the moment? Know that the Lord plans are for your prosperity and not your harm.