Verse 11—"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope"—is one of the most used scriptures from the Old Testament. Why wouldn't it be? When we look at the verse in isolation, it basically says that 'the Lord' is deliberating happy thoughts toward us. However, there is something more sinister once we plug it back into context. The children of Israel were in exile. And God sent word through Jeremiah that they would remain there for seventy years. Seventy years? Yes!
“Build houses and make yourselves at home. Put in gardens and eat what grows in that country. Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children so that you’ll thrive in that country and not waste away. Make yourselves at home there and work for the country’s welfare. Pray for Babylon’s well-being. If things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you.”—Jeremiah 29:5-7 MSG
Prior to being exiled, the children of Israel were doing well in the Promised Land. But they later became corrupted by idol worship and false gods. God exiled them in Babylon. And they would stay there for seventy years until God punished Babylon for their sins. But while in Babylon, God wanted His people to prosper. He wanted them to flourish though they faced adversity.
What does that say to us? Though we may be in, what might seem to be, an exilic period in our life, we must know, "if things go well for Babylon, things will go well for you." God wants us to seek Him and find Him when we are going through the most difficult things in life. Maybe that is exactly where He wants us to be. For then we would learn to call upon him, go and pray, and listen (v. 12). But we must do so with our whole heart (v. 13.)
PRAYER: Dear God, thank you for your promises toward me. Lord I know I must exercise patience and prosper where you have placed me. In whatever state I am in Lord, it is well. I trust the path you have made for my life. Amen!