In devotion this morning I read Jeremiah 29:1-14, What has always been Interesting about this book and chapter is that we are always drawn to vs 11 - 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. But a greater appreciate of Gods word can be realized when we read in context and when we embrace the picture that the author of the text is trying to convey. Jeremiah 29, was a letter written concerning the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. But what was remarkable about the word was that although the people identified with their condition of being in exile there was an expectation from God for them to produce. Verses 5-7 admonished the people to build houses and settle;plant gardens and eat what you produce;marry; have sons and daughters and in turn allow your daughters and sons to do the same. The irony is that all of this was expected to be accomplished in the place of EXILE The human side of us will tend to want to shut down when calamity struck. We get to the place where we become hopeless and wonder why bother but God wants us to realize that our present situation is never an opportunity to abort, to have miscarriages or to facilitate still birth. We are expected to produce understanding that there is a mandate to which we have been called to accomplished. God goes on to say 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. So in essence God says pray where you are at;pray about the condition; pray about the place; pray about the people because if you do things in contradiction of what the enemy expects then the result can only be that of prosperity. WOW!!!! What a mind set that we are expected to have in the midst of the place called EXILE Verses 8-9 speaks of something that is common to persons who find themselves in a dark place. There is always those who will want to talk; want to advise; want to gossip and want to lie so the writer says be careful. Not everybody has the right to your space moreso the right to speak in your pulpit. Try the spirit especially when you are most vulnerable - Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.(because of your state of being in exile) Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them, declares the LORD. Verse 10, say, after a period I God will bring you back from the place of exile. Interesting. There is always an expiry date to anything you face. Nothing last forever. God went further to remind the people in vs 11 - Just in case you may be wondering know that I know and I have a plan. So if our lives are divinely orchestrated by God no man is at liberity to say otherwise. Allow the processes of God to unfold because His plan is that we shall comforth as pure gold. God went on to say that because I have a set a plan seek me with you heart. Why the heart-because out of it comes the issues of LIFE. Be encouraged and know that your place of exile is a platform for you to grow. Gods eyes are fixed on you; cheering you on because He expects us to make it. OUR LIVES ARE TRANSFORMED BY THE WAY WE CHANNEL OUR MINDS. (The prodigals son place of exile was the pig sty but when His mind was transformed by the correct channelling of his thoughts scripture said he came to himself) Our place of EXILE is the platform for you and I to produce. God has always been faithful and He reminds us that our present suffering is nothing compared to the glory that we shall receive upon His return.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:18:46 +0000
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