"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon…"

Jeremiah 29:4 (NIV)

You never planned to be here. This job wasn't in your five-year plan. This city wasn't your dream destination. This season wasn't supposed to last this long. You've been waiting for your real life to start. But what if God isn't waiting at all?

The Israelites felt the same crushing disappointment. They sat in Babylon, surrounded by foreign gods and strange customs. Everything familiar was gone. On August 14, 586 BC, Jerusalem's walls finally fell after a brutal siege. The temple burned. Their homes were destroyed. Most thought exile would be temporary. A brief punishment before restoration. But God had other plans.

God's message through Jeremiah shocked everyone who heard it. "I carried you into exile," He said. Not Babylon's army. Not bad luck. Not poor leadership. God Himself orchestrated their displacement. This wasn't Plan B or a cosmic mistake. This was intentional design.

The hardest pill to swallow was the timeline. Seventy years. An entire lifetime. Most would die before seeing Jerusalem again. Their children would grow up speaking Babylonian. Their grandchildren would be the ones to return home. God's promise wasn't rescue. It was faithful presence through a process.

Scripture reminds us that our plans don't determine God's purposes. Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." You can make all the plans you want. But God's design will unfold exactly as He intends. The question isn't whether your plans will succeed. It's whether you'll trust His purposes when they look different.

Godseekers, your Babylon isn't a mistake. God hasn't forgotten you or lost track of His plan. He placed you exactly where you are for reasons beyond your understanding. Will you waste this season wishing you were somewhere else? Or will you trust that God's purposes include this process? Today, stop resisting where God has placed you. Start asking what He wants to do in you and through you right here, right now.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I confess that I've been fighting against where You've placed me. Forgive me for treating this season like a mistake instead of Your design. You are faithful even when I don't understand.

Help me see this season through Your eyes. Give me courage to stop waiting and start living faithfully right where I am. Thank You that Your plans prevail even when mine fail.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

Personal Reflection

• Where has God placed you that you don't want to be, and how have you been resisting it?

• What would change if you believed God intentionally put you in your current season for a purpose?

Step of Faith

Today, I will write down one specific way I've been putting my life on hold, and I will pray: "God, help me stop waiting for this season to end and start trusting You in it."