“For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14 KJV)
Sometimes we may think our circumstances are a captivity, but remember that God causes all things to cooperate for our benefit (Romans 8:28). And what we consider a captivity is truly a learning center which He has created for us. His personal considerations of his children are good and peaceful thoughts . . . to provide us with a basis of hope.
That is why He calls us to return to his city from our Babylons. He causes us to go into our Babylons because we fail to trust and obey his Word. Yet, He truly expects that we will expect to be delivered out of captivity. He has planned our final destination with his own hand. When that is our focus, we will call upon him and He will respond to us.
Our expectation determines if we will search for him with all our hearts. If we search for him in hope, then He promises to be found and to turn away our captivity. He promises to gather us out of all the Babylons to which He has driven us. Consider his love for us: He drives us into our Babylons so that we may learn the error of our ways and trust him not to leave us there.
From the depths of any Babylon, we can call on God in hope and He will take our calls. In our hope, we focus on finding him and He promises not to hide from us. Wow! What a wonderful father He is!
Dear Father, thank you for hope through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Deliver us from our captivity that we might truly serve you in your city. In the name of Jesus I pray. AMEN
Be encouraged today in the hope Christ provides,