‘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, so that they may bear sons and daughters—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 29:5-7
After King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem the Israelites found themselves in exile as they were taken as captives to Babylon. It seemed inconceivable to them that the Lord wouldn’t get them out of that situation as soon as possible so they could go back home. But God said something interesting to the Israelites in exile through prophet Jeremiah which must have seemed shocking to them. According to the word of the Lord Israel would be in Babylon for a good number of years. As if that was not enough, while there they were to focus on building their lives in Babylon rather than going back to Jerusalem.
There are situations we go through in life that may cause us to question if God is really with us. The external circumstances may seem so contrary to our expectations that our constant prayer is for God to either change the circumstance or get us out of that situation as quickly as possible. However, as we mature in God we see that there are times when He doesn’t change things around us, rather His objective is for us to change within those circumstances.
This series as we look at how to thrive in adverse circumstances, we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide our thoughts and actions so we see adversity from the right perspective and respond accurately. Click HERE to download the study.