I feel like this word has been particularly significant in my own life lately as I start to recognize, and have the courage to act on, promptings from the Holy Spirit. I think most of us have a tendency to run our own lives. We don't stop long enough to listen for the Holy Spirit, or even on the off chance that we might stop to listen, we aren't all that sure that we actually sure we want to go on the journey we're being invited on and we decline the invitation.
Every prompting from the Holy Spirit is like another voice command from your GPS, inviting you to come along, to experience life to the fullest.
I have a coffee mug at work that I purchased about 10 years ago at a Christian women's conference. On one side, it says Journey, on the other is Jeremiah 29:11
This verse has become some what of a battle cry in the evangelical world. We find it comforting when life gets uncertain and we're not quite sure where to go next. We find hope when it feels like things are spinning out of control. I think all of these things are good, but they completely miss the contextual meaning of the verse.
As I was thinking about this on my drive home last night, I was eager to open up my Bible and dig into what was going on before and after this verse. It is very clear immediately, who these words were meant for.
These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)
Jeremiah, a prophet, was delivering words that God had given them to people who had been sent to a foreign land. God was giving them plans for their life in this place of exile, where they would be for a while.
For thus says the Lord : When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. (vs 10)
The people that these words were meant for were living in an foreign land, Jews among gentiles. What I found in verse seven was particularly interesting
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (vs 7)
Interesting. This same word, welfare, is used instead of prosper in the ESV translation of Jeremiah 29:11.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord , plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord , and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord , and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. (vs 11-14)
Even more interesting to me was the note in my Bible on this word. The Hebrew word being used is shalom, meaning complete peace and well-being for a group of people.
I was profoundly impacted by the fact that their welfare, their peace, their future, their hope, was dependent on the welfare that they brought to Babylon. They had to first bring blessing to the Gentiles before God would bring blessing to them.
What if we brought this back? What if our prosperity, wealth, health, future and hope was only as promising as it was for everyone in our community, how would that change things for you? Would things look better? Would things look worse?
The opportunity to bring peace, welfare and hope among our neighbors is endless. I needed this reminder that this journey, this faith, it isn't about me. Sure, it markets really well when we swing it that way, everyone wants to improve their life, ensuring the best for themselves and their families. Evangelical churches today have gotten really good at selling the God of personal gain, but I feel God calling us back to be a people not concerned with our own welfare, but the welfare of our communities.
This brings a sense of solidarity, of wholeness, of being one. It allows us to see our neighbors as someone created in the image of God, regardless of their beliefs, culture or attitude. God isn't just concerned about the welfare of Christians, he is concerned about the welfare of EVERYONE. Period.
This requires action. This requires building bridges. This requires relationships.
I recently read something by Brennan Manning in the book, A Glimpse of Jesus: The Stranger to Self-Hatred that has stuck with me.
Biblical compassion, combining heartfelt emotion with active relief for the suffering, transcends psychological personalism and privatized pity to enter into the very heart and mystery of God. Clearminded, hard-hearted, and softhearted, Jesus revealed in his ministry of mercy the face of the compassionate God.
To be like Jesus requires us to act. Thinking about the outcast, the widow, the poor and the powerless does nothing. We are called to action.
I challenge you today, just as I have challenged myself, to listen for the prompting of the Holy Spirit, listen for God calling you on a journey. Listen for the opportunity to bring welfare and hope to someone who needs it desperately. When the opportunity comes, accept it, trust it, go for it. Dive heart first into the chance to enter into the heart and mystery of God, you won't be disappointed.
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