Jeremiah 29 is a longtime favorite scripture passage, especially Jeremiah 29:11, “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” This weekend as I watched news about events around the world and in our country, I found myself praying these words. In this passage God is speaking to the exiles in Babylon. God urges them to pray and to search for God, who will bring these plans to reality. There is a hope and energy present in this passage as the people in exile find life as they await their return.
God’s words to the exiles speak to us today in a world filled with change, natural disasters, violence, all the many experiences that fill our days. We are people who pray and seek God as we try faithfully to live into a future with hope. I pray whether you find yourself at home or exiled that there are glimmers of that future with hope. Glimmers seen in acts of kindness, connecting and valuing others regardless of any differences, respectful dialogue and in the joys that breakthrough the ordinary. When hope is distant, I pray we will carry each other through until we once again can hear and believe the words in Jeremiah 29. May we each continue to pray and search for God, step by step living into God’s promised future with hope no matter where we find ourselves.