Reaching Higher: A Series on My Journey of
Discipleship
Jeremiah 29:4-14
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
[Preface: This series is autobiographical
to the extent that it is loosely based on my spiritual journey. In some ways,
you could compare it to the stock market with a gradual overall increase, but
many ups and downs; even a crash or two. Through it all though, the Lord has
loved me and been with me the whole time. I hope you find my journey
encouraging, but also, that the Lord might speak to you through it.]
They say that the Lord works in mysterious ways. Take me for instance.
Even though I’ve
lived in Columbus, Ohio since 1985, Michigan is still home to me. I grew up
there from kindergarten through high school. I graduated from Michigan State
University; met my wife and married her; started our family; and started my
career.
I can’t claim that
I was exiled to Columbus, the heart of the Ohio State Buckeyes. After all, it
was my choice to move here.
But I repeat, Michigan will always be home to me. As
a testament to that, my basement office is decorated completely with Michigan
State memorabilia. The Lord does work in mysterious ways.
Unlike me, the Jews
who Jeremiah was writing to, had been exiled. They didn’t choose to go to
Babylon; they were forced to. They were violently ripped out of their homes;
their community; their jobs; their religious traditions; everything that was
familiar to them.
In the opening
line, Jeremiah makes a bold statement that God Himself claimed credit for their
exile. The Lord goes on to say that they should “build houses, marry and have children; seek peace and prosperity for
the city; even pray for it”. But why?
10 This
is what the Lord says: “You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I
will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring
you home again. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says
the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future
and a hope. NLT
Indeed, the Lord
does work in mysterious ways. Even when you can’t see it; the Lord has a plan
for you. Even if you’ve been exiled from all that is familiar; even in the
middle of the COVID-19 pandemic; even when life hurts deeply; the Lord has a
plan for you.
It would be nice
if He gave us a roadmap that laid out His plan in black and white. But it
doesn’t work that way. Sometimes we go through seasons of life without
direction; without focus; without meaning. The good news is that the Lord is
always with you; always at work; and always loves you.
Yes, the Lord
works in mysterious ways.
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