Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14
When times are good, there’s no need for change. (Who times are good for is another conversation.) However, when times aren’t so good, we often long for change. Often, things going terribly wrong are the only reason that we are willing to change.
Exile is one of those big changes. Pandemic is one of those big changes. Diagnosis is one of those big changes. Graduation is one of those big changes. Starting and stopping driving are those changes. Often we get disoriented by these big changes.
So God needs to step in to remind us, to reorient us to our lives in the middle of the changes. As God reminds the people then, God reminds the people now. What we are to do is live. Some things can’t be interrupted. Marry, plant, raise children, harvest. And look after the welfare of the city. Make where you are better. Don’t focus on elsewhere, focus on where we are.
And at the same time, God speaks to what will be after the change. Well, alludes to it. Mainly that there will be something after the change, and that God is in charge of what it is.