Hope In Hardship: A Message from Jeremiah

This morning's reading in my Anchored In His Word devotional was from Jeremiah 29:11.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

We've probably all heard this verse in one context or another. If you're like me, it's always nice to hear, but it doesn't always connect. Today, as I read the entire chapter of Jeremiah 29, it finally did. And that's what I want to share with you today, a reflection from Jeremiah 29 on having hope in hardship.

Context

Jeremiah is a prophet of the Old Testament. As we know, the Bible is broken into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The prophets in the OT are similar to the disciples in the NT. While the disciples share their direct experiences with Jesus, the prophets share their experiences with God, and God speaks His Word through them. The key to receiving God's Word is to first accept that the Bible is God's Word. See my post on Biblical Skepticism if you're struggling with this.

Jeremiah 29 is a letter from Jeremiah to God's people being held captive in Babylon. God speaks to His people through Jeremiah, revealing His plan and His promise to them.

It's worth noting why God's people were in Babylon before we dive into modern-day application of God's Word.

After King Solomon's reign, Israel (God's chosen people) split into two kingdoms. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, survived the longest, but eventually fell to the same sin of idolatry as the Northern Kingdom. Because Israel fell into sin, God allowed them to be held captive in Babylon for seventy years.

Biblical Babylon is not only a physical place, but symbolizes Hell on earth. It was a place of demonic corruption and rampant sin. By allowing His people to be held there, God let them see first hand what they'd chosen over Him. Even still, God did not abandon them. He gives them directives on how to endure captivity and promises to rescue them from captivity.

While the New Testament reveals God's New Covenant with mankind through Jesus Christ, there is still much to learn from the Old Testament, especially when you read it through a lens of symbolism.

Israel became God's chosen people through the covenant God made with Abraham. This covenant is the beginning for God's redemptive plan for humanity. Today, through Jesus, we are all His chosen people. He's just waiting for us to choose Him.

When we read the Old Testament, we may look at Israel/ the Israelites as if they represent us. God promises to rescue His people from captivity, the same way He promises us salvation and freedom from the captivity of sin and darkness through Jesus Christ.

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What can we learn from Jeremiah 29 today?

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands--that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace." Jeremiah 29:4-7

No matter the hardship you face, God is with you. Sometimes God allows His people to reap the consequences of their actions, but He never abandons us. Sometimes God sends us into captivity or Godless-places, but not for us to be captives or to remain in captivity. He sends us to multiply in that place and be the light in a Godless-place. He sends us to spread His Word and be His ambassadors of love and peace.

While in today's society, we may not face captivity the same way the Israelites did, we may still encounter religious persecution, places where God is not accepted or a safe topic of conversation. In these spaces, we are not the captives, the ones who have yet to meet God are. So, when we enter these places of captivity--whether we are sent there by God or lured by the devil, remember the truth: God is with you. Have hope. Pray for peace. Spread His Word, because His Word saves souls.

Pray for peace wherever you are and through whatever circumstance you endure. Never let the circumstance or evil discourage you from building a bright future. Build your houses and have your children so that the light of the Lord is not diminished by darkness. Preparing for the future means you believe in the future. It is an act of hope. Have hope and be the hope of the Lord.

"For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:10-11

God tells the Israelites, just like He tells us, to have hope and build beautiful lives even among the darkness and corruption of sin. Our hope is grounded in the Lord's promise to rescue and redeem us, not in our ability to persevere. What we build or produce represents our hope, but is not the foundation for our hope.

God promises that the hardship we face will not last forever. God promises He has not forgotten about us. He thinks of us and His thoughts are for peace, not evil. He desires to give us a future and a hope--not just in salvation through Jesus, but right here and now. Through His Word and scripture just like this, we find our hope.

Let's take a moment to meditate on how beautiful that is.

Our God is mindful of us. Our God concerns himself with us. We are not forgotten. Our God does not seek to punish us, but to redeem us. Our God desires relationship with us. Our God loves us. Our God is with us.

As often quoted as Jeremiah 29:11 is, I find Jeremiah 29:12-14 even more beautiful and resonant. And that's where we'll end.

"Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity." Jeremiah 29:12-14

God promises He hears our prayers. When we seek Him, we will find Him. He is not hiding from us. This is not a game of hide-and-seek. The Lord is waiting for us to seek Him, choose Him, because He has already sought us. He has already chosen us. He already loves us. Even in our moments of blindness and rebellion, He seeks, loves, and chooses us. All we have to do to feel His love is seek Him. He's there waiting. He doesn't abandon us even when we abandon Him.

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I hope that today's reflection on Jeremiah 29 was encouraging to you. As I close today, I feel called to share one more thing from my own journey back to God.

God Met Me In My Hopelessness

My journey with God has been full of ups and downs. I grew up in the church, but I didn't have the best experiences. This is something I'm going to write about in my next post in The Divine Return series. In a nutshell, I learned to fear God not to love Him or feel His love for me. And while I did learn that I could pray to Him, I didn't really know Him. I didn't understand who He truly was, who He says I am. And because of the fear and control surrounding my upbringing in the church, the older I got the less of a desire I had to know Him.

When I left home and entered college, I was blind to the truth and vulnerable to the devil's deception. Over the years, I was pulled further and further away from God. I spent most of my twenties only seeking the Lord during the times of great heartbreak: my dad's battle with cancer and ultimate death, my divorce, and in moments of hopelessness and heartbreak since.

Every time I called out to Him, He was there. Truthfully, He was there even when I wasn't seeking Him. I just didn't realize it.

Our God is not an I told you so God. He will not meet your cries for help with guilt and shame, but with love, forgiveness, and a desire to help you.

The time when my dad was sick feels like a blur to me. There are memories that stick out, but it was such a chaotic time, both because of his illness and other things happening, that all I truly remember is the heartache and pain. I don't remember it being a time when I was close to God and yet I know the only way I survived was through His strength. I wasn't close to Him, but He was close to me.

When I was going through my divorce, about two years later, that's when I was the closest to God--prior to present day. Saving my marriage was the most important thing to me. I sought wisdom and strength from the Lord. I prayed for God to save my marriage. And He answered my prayers, just not in the way I was expecting or hoping.

Every night that I went to sleep crying for God to save my marriage, the very next day my husband would do something that felt like confirmation from God that it would not be saved. Still, I kept fighting because I knew God did not desire divorce. I continued to fight longer than my heart truly wanted to, because of my commitment to my vow, to God. But God knew things I didn't and He did save my marriage by removing my counterfeit of a husband.

When my ex-husband left, I had peace, because I knew that I'd honored my vow. I knew I'd done everything I could to save us and I had no choice in the matter. I knew that God forgave me. And I know, because I know myself, that it was God's strength alone that allowed me to survive that divorce with strength, patience, dignity, and humility.

But God didn't just save me from my counterfeit, He saved me from me, from utter despair. During the destruction of my marriage, prior to my husband leaving, I reached a level of brokenness I'd never felt before. There were a couple of nights when my husband was away, because he decided he was done long before telling me, that I held a knife to my wrist with the intention of hurting myself.

I wanted him to see the pain he was causing me. I wanted him to see how badly his actions were hurting me. I wanted him to change, to try, to choose me. In that moment, God's peace and strength came over me along with the words, "My blood is worth more than this."

I can't explain to you how I know it was God who saved me, who spoke to me, but it was. God saved me from the knife not once but twice. He didn't hesistate to step into my hopelessness. He didn't let me give in the second time even after he'd already taught me this lesson once. He is not a keeper of wrongs, but a redeemer of lost souls. Not only was my blood worth more than the heartache being forced upon me, the blood of Jesus Christ that saves me and the plan God has for me is too powerful for Him to let a man or the devil destroy me.

Even after this moment with God, I still did not seek Him without ceasing. I made it through my divorce, and for a few years I went on autopilot. What made me begin seeking Him again, this time without ceasing? Believing that I'd finally met my husband after years of singleness, hopelessness, and loneliness.

While there have been times when I haven't been close to the Lord, I always knew that I wanted to raise my kids to know the Lord. I always knew that I would eventually find my way back. So, when I thought I'd met my person, I wanted to seek the Lord. I wanted to embark on this journey of getting closer to God and have a future that is God-centered.

Not long after beginning my journey back to God, this relationship, which I truly believed was from God, crumbled. This time, instead of pulling away from the Lord, I dug my heels in. I stayed consistent in my study of the Bible and in my prayer routine for a solid year. There was a part of me that needed the distraction, needed the goal, needed something to keep me from completely falling into despair. Another part of me still believed that this person was my husband and I sought the Lord's strength to endure the separation by remaining close to Him through His Word.

Throughout this year, so much transformation occurred. And when the devil reintroduced this counterfeit back into my life, I was finally strong enough to see the truth and to hear God's voice, which had been telling me all along that it's not him. That is a post for another day and I am excited to write it, because now that I've finally learned how to recognize God's voice, I can rest more calmly in His guidance. But for now, my message to you is this:

No matter the circumstance you face, no matter how far you feel you've strayed, God is with you. God is waiting for you. God loves you. And, undoubtedly, His goodness has already shown up in your life. You need only to recognize it.

The key to growing your relationship with the Lord and finding strength and peace in Him is through His Word. I encourage you to embark on your own journey through God's Word. Seek Him and you will find Him. Pray to Him and He will listen.