Jeremiah 24:5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, pwhom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 qI will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. rI will build them up, and not tear them down; sI will plant them, and not uproot them. 7 tI will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, uand they shall be my people uand I will be their God, vfor they shall return to me with their whole heart.
Our conventional wisdom is those who stayed in the land are the blessed—those who are captured by the enemy must be cursed by God, and those who remain in the land are kept by the grace of God. This is often how we view our lives and the aspects of God’s blessings. Those who remain in the land (Taiwan, Baton Rouge) are blessed, and those who are exiled to other places (Belize,Grand Rapids) are cursed. But God’s way was to take his people out of safety and familiar land, put them through difficulty, strange people, and instead of familiar neighbors, social networks, self-reliance, they have to rely on the LORD, their only hope and salvation. And God will give them a heart to know Him, and we will be His people, and return to him with our whole heart.
I feel like an exile sometimes, moving from Taiwan, to Belize, to Pensacola, to Baton Rouge, now toGrand Rapids. I am constantly feeling like in strange land. After we have built our self-reliance inBaton Rouge, familiar friends, familiar places, social networks, God uprooted us and put us on a journey once again. We are called to the land which God will show us, and we are to be like Abraham our spiritual father, waiting for that city which cannot be moved. God help us in the midst of sick children, lack of sleep, lack of friends, loneliness, financially depended on others, so that we can know Him, and be His people.
Thank you Lord, help us, because we cannot, but you can.
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