You Can Find Me in Babylon!

My youngest daughter, Anna, loves for me to tell her the "endings" of things.  Whether it be a book or movie, she is desperate to know how the plot ends. She still goes on to read the book or watch the movie, but she is much more content knowing how things are going to turn out.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a very popular verse right now. "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."  You see the verse displayed on t-shirts, bracelets and various other places.  I love these words and cling to them as well, but if you look at the verse in the full context, you will see that it is the "end of the story."

In this particular passage, the Israelites had been exiled to Babylon.  They were captives in a foreign land where they did not belong.  God sends a message to them through the prophet Jeremiah.  I know it is lengthy, but please take a moment to read.


This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem:  “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.  Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!  And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”


This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let your prophets and fortune-tellers who are with you in the land of Babylon trick you. Do not listen to their dreams,  because they are telling you lies in my name. I have not sent them,” says the LORD.


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."

Now comes the verse that we are all so familiar with:


"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."

But, let us not forget the footnote that is so often left out when this verse is quoted:

"In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you,” says the LORD. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”


In a nutshell, God is telling them to live their lives.  It is not their home, but it is where they are for now.  They should work hard in the city and help it be all that it can be. At the same time, they are warned to be wise and not be let astray.

When I read this in the wee hours of the morning today, I realized something.  I am in my very own Babylon. I was exiled there two years ago when I signed papers and entered the unfamiliar land of divorce.  It is NOT my home and not where I want to be.  But, for now it is where I am.

I much prefer my Jerusalem.  I am not made for single life.  I was much more content with a partner that I came home to at the end of the each day and shared my life with.  So, honestly, I just want to jump to the part where God is going to give me the hope and future and take me back home.  Can't I just skip chapters 1-15 of my current book and go straight to the ending?  Well, my friends, it is not often that I feel God speaking something ever so clearly to my heart, but this morning at 2:00 a.m., it rang out loud in clear in my thoughts.  Right now, I am in Babylon and I need to do the things that God has called me to do while I am stuck here.  I am not too happy about it, but I learned long ago that my life goes so much smoother when I follow his plan and not my own.

So, what will I do?  I will live my life in this land of divorce. I will use this time to help others that God puts in my path. I will work to make this a land of peace and prosperity and I will find my way through all the chapters until He brings me to the end of the exile.  How do I live here and hopefully one day get to the end of my exile?  That is found in the often forgotten footnote!  I pray and I seek Him wholeheartedly.

Sometimes, when Anna presses me for an ending, I say, "I am not going to tell you, but trust me it is going to be great.  You just need to read the book and see for yourself."  God is telling me the same thing.  He is not letting me in on the details of the ending, but He has assured that it is going to be great!  So, for now, if you need to find me, look me up in Babylon.  That is where I will be hanging out for the time being!

Dear God,

Can I just add one little request?  Please don't make me wait 70 years.  I will be 114 by then.  I don't think that is asking too much!