“Your lifestyle of love will lead others to Christ in a world lost and looking for authentic faith.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – September 17, 2025
“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. Jeremiah 29:11, NLT
What does it mean to be exiled? Being exiled involves loss: losing control over your circumstances, where you live, who you are, and mourning what was left behind. Living as a faithful Christian today often feels like exile in your own culture. Values you cherish—sexual purity, biblical marriage, the sanctity of life—are increasingly viewed as outdated or offensive. You’re called to love your enemies while culture teaches retaliation. You seek humility in a selfie-obsessed world, generosity in a materialistic society, and forgiveness in a cancel-culture climate. Like the Babylonian exiles, you’re called to seek your culture’s good while maintaining a distinct identity. You engage in politics without being consumed by them, use technology without being enslaved by it, and pursue success without worshiping it. You’re in the world but not of it—planting gardens in foreign soil, knowing your true citizenship is elsewhere while faithfully serving where God has placed you. God’s people suffered exile 600 years before Jesus.
Picture yourself ripped from everything familiar—your home, your job, your community, your dreams—and dropped into a foreign land where nothing makes sense. That’s exactly where God’s people found themselves when Nebuchadnezzar’s army swept them into Babylonian exile around 597 B.C. The exiles were devastated, homesick, and desperate for answers. False prophets whispered sweet lies: “You’ll be home by Christmas! God won’t let this last!” But Jeremiah delivered a shocking message from heaven: “Settle in. Build houses. Plant gardens. This exile will last seventy years.” Seventy years. An entire lifetime. Most would die in this foreign place, never seeing Jerusalem again. But God’s letter through Jeremiah wasn’t just about waiting—it was about thriving in unwanted circumstances. “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city where I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Imagine the audacity: pray for your captors’ success because your welfare is tied to theirs.
This is where Jeremiah 29:11 fits: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” This wasn’t a promise of immediate rescue but a long-term covenant of redemption. We all experience seasons of exile—job loss, illness, broken relationships, unfulfilled dreams. Like the Babylonian captives, we want quick fixes and speedy returns to normal. But God often calls us to plant gardens in places we never wanted to live, to seek the welfare of situations we never chose. The exiles learned that faithfulness isn’t about escaping hard seasons—it’s about remaining faithful within them. They discovered that God’s presence wasn’t limited to Jerusalem’s temple; He was equally present in Babylon’s foreign soil.
Feeling exiled, isolated, and alone? God sees you, knows your circumstances, and has plans for your future. But His timeline isn’t ours. Your job isn’t to engineer your escape—it’s to plant flowers where you’ve been planted, trusting that even in exile, God’s purposes are unfolding. Sometimes the most beautiful growth happens in the soil of unwanted circumstances. Keep an eternal perspective and experience earthly joy. Remember, Jesus is preparing you a place, not just in heaven, but now. Lean into the places where you experience God’s presence and be loved. Your lifestyle of love will lead others to Christ in a world lost and looking for authentic faith.
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11).
Prayer
Lord, help me live faithfully in this place that is not my home. Keep my heart anchored in You, my witness strong, and my hope fixed on Your promised restoration. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
What area of your life is the Lord leading you to be an influencer for Him in a manner that is counter-cultural?
Related Reading
Psalm 119:19; 1 Chronicles 29:15; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 11:13
Worship Resource
Teddy Swims ft. CeCe Winans: Faith
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