A lot of people don’t like where they are, or the position they find themselves in.
Sometimes it’s literally a geographic issue. Other times, they’re in a job that feels unfulfilling. Maybe they have been overlooked for a promotion, or they’re just not happy with their current situation. Regardless, of “how” they got into their situation, their only interest is getting out.
This perspective often leads to resentment, bitterness and cynicism.
In the Book of Jeremiah, the Israelites have been exiled into Babylon. Babylonian culture is very different from what they’re used to or, quite frankly, where they want to be. But instead of telling them to curse Babylon or to oppose the culture, Jeremiah commands them to do this:
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” – Jeremiah 29:7
Where Have you been Sent?
Have you ever considered that where you are is where you have been sent?
When I find myself somewhere I don’t like or somewhere I don’t want to be, my first thought is that its somehow a mistake. When I consider that maybe I’ve been placed there for a reason, that maybe I’m being used in this situation for a higher purpose, it changes my attitude.
In the case of Jeremiah, the Lord is intentional that He “sent” his people into exile.
Is that hard for you to believe?
Remember Jesus was “led by the Spirit” into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1). If Jesus was led by the Spirit to be tempted, couldn’t it be possible that the Spirit has led you to where you are for the same purpose?
If you find yourself in a place you don’t like, pause and consider that maybe you’ve been sent there for a reason.
Welfare is Shalom
The word “welfare” holds a different meaning if you’ve grown up in America. To us, welfare is a government program. However, the original word in the Jeremiah passage is the word “shalom”.
The word shalom is often translated as peace, completeness, wholeness and well-being.
When you read the passage with these definitions, it changes the entire dynamic.
“Seek the shalom (peace, completeness, wholeness) of the city where you have been sent.”
As followers of Jesus, we’re called to pursue the peace of the environments in which we’ve been placed. We’re to bring peace to our workplace, our family, our neighborhood.
When you realize that you have been purposed to bring the peace of the Kingdom into the environments where you have been placed, it changes everything.
How to find shalom
Once we consider that we’ve been placed in our situations to specifically bring peace and pray for peace in those areas, we receive a promise.
“…in its welfare (shalom), you will find your welfare (shalom).”
God rarely gives commands without a promise. The beauty of His love for His people is that when He gives them a command, He follows it with a promise.
In the case of Jeremiah, He says that when we embrace our call to bring His shalom into our situations, He promises to impart that same shalom to us.
The power of this passage and story from Jeremiah is that God knew their time in Babylon wasn’t permanent. In fact, He delivered them 70 years later. But during their time of exile, God had a purpose for them. That purpose was for them to introduce the people of Babylon to the idea of His peace.
I believe God wanted to introduce Babylon to a different idea of what peace is and where it comes from. Then, a few hundred years later, He would introduce them to the “Prince of Peace”, Jesus.
How well do you bring “shalom” to your workplace?
Do you focus more on peace, or do you dive into the chaos around you?
Take this story from Jeremiah as a challenge to see the welfare of where you’ve been placed and it sure to be the pathway to the peace that your heart deeply desires.
MH