Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14
There’s a particular ache that comes with finding yourself somewhere you never imagined you’d be. A diagnosis you didn’t see coming. A relationship you hoped would heal but didn’t. A job loss, a disruption, a season that feels stretched thin and unfamiliar.
The people receiving Jeremiah’s letter knew this ache well. They were far from home, living in exile, longing for what once was. If anyone had reason to hope God would swoop in and fix things immediately, it was them.
But the message they receive is surprising, to say the least.
“Build houses. Plant gardens. Seek the welfare of the place where you are.”
Not escape. Not wait it out. But live, plant, root, hope even. Right where you are. It’s not the message we always want, but it’s often the message we need. Because sometimes the places we call “exile” – the unexpected, the unwanted, the in-between – are exactly the places where God gathers us most gently.
Not to punish. Not to abandon. But to form us.
To teach us how to live faithfully in unfamiliar territory. To show us the kind of hope that grows slowly, like a garden tended over time. To remind us that God’s presence isn’t limited to ideal circumstances. God meets us in the real ones.
And woven through it all is this promise:
“I will gather you… I will bring you home.”
Not necessarily back to the life we had, but into a future shaped by God’s hope-filled imagination, a future with hope, a future where the scattered pieces of our lives are gathered into something whole.
Wherever you are this week – even if it feels like exile – may you find the courage to plant something good, to root yourself in God’s quiet presence, to trust that God gathers you even here. Take some time where you are able to sit with the reading or this week and reflect on the following questions.
- Where in your life do you feel “in exile,” out of place, uncertain, or longing for what used to be?
- What might it look like to “plant” hope or faithfulness right where you are, even before circumstances change?
- How has God met you in places you didn’t choose to be?
- Where do you sense God gently gathering the scattered pieces of your life right now?
- What small act could help you become more rooted in God’s presence this week?
Let’s pray:
God of every place – familiar and unfamiliar – You gather us even when we feel far from home. In the spaces we didn’t choose, meet us with your steady presence. In the moments that feel uncertain, plant your hope within us. Teach us to live faithfully where we are, to trust that you are shaping us with love, and to believe that you are leading us toward a future filled with grace. Gather us, God, in our questions, in our waiting, and in our becoming. AMEN
