In the above passage, Jeremiah is writing to exiles in Babylon. Things were a mess! Caught in a power struggle between Egypt and Babylon, captives from the Kingdom of Judah were sent to Babylon. In spite of warnings and promises of a speedy return to their normal lives, that did not happen. Yet, Jeremiah’s dissenting voice also promised hope, as well as a future, not harm.
Plans have certainly changed for all of us in the last few months. School plans, plans for AP and college prep testing, graduation plans, living arrangements, travel plans, return to school, scouts, sports, or maybe not. All have certainly changed. The list can go on and on. For us, we rescheduled medical and dental appointments. Many people are working from home. Trips, reunions, and meetings were cancelled. Family and friends who live far away, we visit via FaceTime, instead of face-to-face time. We miss them! Yet in this time, we find comfort in the words of Jeremiah.
In our lives, we have read this passage many times: before we left our home state of North Carolina to move to Georgia with a 10 year old and a child not yet 2. We have made many other changes from then until now, but the best was finding a new church home at Alpharetta Presbyterian. We relish our Sunday morning worship in a new way, but also enjoy our devotionals, Facebook for APC and APC Family, seeing our youth and seniors, and Zoom meetings of all variety. There is hope! We may not know exactly how this will all play out, but we know God is in charge, not us. Yes, there are many things we can do to make things safer, even if apart, but God has plans for our welfare and not for harm.
