Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14
There are seasons in life when we find ourselves living somewhere we never expected to be, in a role we didn’t choose, a circumstance that feels temporary, or a place where we keep thinking, “Surely God will move me on from here soon.” Israel knew that feeling intimately. In Jeremiah 29, the people are living in exile, waiting for the moment God will bring them home. Their hearts are somewhere else. Their minds are somewhere else. Their hope is somewhere else.
And that’s when God, through Jeremiah, says something surprising:
“Build houses. Plant gardens. Seek the welfare of the place where you are.”
It’s not what exiles expected to hear. God doesn’t say, “Hold your breath until this is over,” or, “Don’t invest too deeply — you’re leaving soon.” Instead, God calls them to live fully here, not someday, not when things get better, but now.
This week’s Sacred Rhythm invites you into a spiritual practice of rooted presence, the holy, sometimes uncomfortable act of blooming where you are planted.
- Notice Where Your Feet Are – Sit for a moment and gently ask yourself: Where am I resisting being present? In what part of my life am I waiting for “someday”? Don’t judge your answers, just notice them.
- Choose One Way to “Build” – In Jeremiah 29, building a house isn’t about construction, it’s about investment. Ask yourself: What is one small way I can invest in where I am right now? It might be deepening a friendship, starting a small routine, or tending to a neglected part of your life.
- Seek the Welfare of Your Place – Look around your neighbourhood, workplace, or community and ask: What small act could help this place flourish? It doesn’t have to be grand. God’s kingdom grows in mustard seeds.
- Pray for Peace Right Here – End your time with a simple prayer:
“God of exile and homecoming, help me root myself in the life I’m living now.
Teach me to trust that you are with me here,
and that hope can bloom even in unexpected soil.”
In a world that constantly pulls us toward elsewhere – toward what’s next, what’s better, what’s easier – God invites us into the present moment, the present community, the present soil. Jeremiah reminds us that hope doesn’t begin when our circumstances finally change. It begins when we begin to plant.
May you bloom – gently, bravely, faithfully – right where you are.
May you find small shoots of hope rising right where you are planted this week.
