Seek and You Shall Find
Holy Ground - Part 3
Sunday, July 25, 2021
Jeremiah 29:1-14
Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Jeremiah 29:12-14
Listen to this week’s message here:
The verses above immediately follow one of the most popular and perhaps most misused verses in all of scripture - Jeremiah 29:11. “I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.”
It’s certainly understandable why this sentiment is so beloved. We find it on plaques and cards for graduations, weddings, and countless other significant transitional life-events precisely because we want the assurance that whatever comes next will be a blessing. This verse, on the surface, seems to guarantee that all will go well in our future, no matter what path we may be on.
While this may be true in some cases… even many cases… it is not always true. Jeremiah is not talking about a prosperous career, a sucessful marriage, or even good health and long life. We must remember he is preaching to the exiles in Babylon, and though he gives them hope of a return to their homeland, he is also clear in the rest of the passage that 70 years will pass before this promise is fulfilled. He warns them not to listen to the false prophets we see in chapter 28 who declare that God will break the yokes of Babylon in only 2 years and all will be well. This, Jeremiah says, is not the word of the Lord. Instead, he tells them to settle down in the land where they have been sent; to build homes and families and even grow vineyards in this foreign and seemingly godless culture. Bottom line: “Get comfortable. You’re going to be here awhile.”
The problem with the way we so often hear Jeremiah 29:11 is not a misinterpretation of the promise itself. Rather, it is the assumption that this promise is a guarantee for us right here and right now and that all will be peaceful and blessed in our lives if we are faithful to God. Nowhere in Scripture does God guarantee us prosperity or peace in life. In fact, Jesus guaratees the opposite, that we will face trouble and even persecution.
The big issue for Jeremiah is not about giving the people false hope that all will work out well. Instead he is pointing them to a God who has not left them or forsaken them, even here in what feels like a God forsaken exile in Babylon. Live your lives where you are, he says. Build homes. Care for your families. Love your neighbors, even when they are your enemies. Be a blessing to them, for as your community prospers, so will you. Their welfare is your welfare.
Then he closes this section with the most important reminder of all. Keep searching for the Lord with all your heart, and he will be found. Keep praying, and God will hear. The message is that God is already with us even when we feel far away, and that it is our perseverence in prayer and seeking God that will open our eyes to the Spirit’s presence already in our midst.
God is not hiding from us, even in exile. God is not waiting for us at the church or in some other holy place. God is where God has always been… walking right by our side. The question is not where can God be found, but rather, do we really want to find God at all. Seek with all your heart and you will find that God was right there all along.
Where do you feel most distant from God right now? What would it look like for you to persevere in prayer and seek God with all your heart? Pay attention this week, and reflect on the places God’s presence surprises you, even when it seems like you are living in exile far from your comfortable spiritual home.