Staying the Course: The Perseverance of God's People in Tumultuous Times
Image by James Tissot (1836-1902), The Flight of the Prisoners, c. 1896-1902, Jewish Museum, New York, NY; image from Wikimedia Commons; {{PD-US}}.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.
2022 has arrived and Christians around the world continue to face increasing hostility because of their faith, even in countries that are supposed to uphold religious freedom. How do God's instructions to the exiled Jews in Babylon (Jer. 29:4-7) help believers to persevere today?
The exiled Jews in Babylon didn’t know exactly how God was going to bring about their redemption and restoration.
When Babylon destroyed the temple and exiled the Judeans in 586 BC (Israel was exiled by Assyria in 722 BC and some Judeans were exiled in 605 BC), perseverance was essential for not only the exiles' own survival but also for the fulfillment of God's promise for a savior to come from the line of David. The exiled Jews must have wondered how God was going to bring about their redemption and restoration. Yet, it didn't matter whether they knew what God was going to do—or how he was going to do it. What mattered was that God is always faithful to fulfill his promises, he knew what he was going to do, and he always accomplishes all his purposes!
In the book of Jeremiah, we read God's instructions to the exiles:
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 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." (Jer. 29:4-7)
God did, in his time, restore the exiles to their land and the temple was rebuilt in 515 BC; yet, these restorations were only temporary as we know from the siege on and destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Roman army in AD 70. A final and eternal restoration for God's people was still yet to come.
God’s children will continue to be under siege until Christ’s return.
In the post-Christian culture in which we live today, it seems like God's children are also in exile, living among more and more people who reject God and his word. Furthermore, Christians are under siege because of their faith, as they have been since the first century and shall be until Christ's return.
God's instructions to the exiled Jews in Babylon also encourage and fortify believers in the present time. As long as this world goes on, we are called to persevere amid evil. While we cannot eradicate it completely, we can stand resolutely against it and honor God in our various callings in life. And we can have confidence no matter what comes our way—even as we ourselves fall short again and again in various ways—because God will have the last word and one day evil will be no more.
Christians can take heart that God is good and he will have the last word.
God has redeemed a people for himself by the precious blood of Christ our Savior, and he is building his kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. Take heart and keep on persevering, for God is in control, he is good, and he will accomplish the restoration of all things to his glory for all eternity.
This article is adapted from “Staying the Course” in BCL's January 2021 Newsletter: Perseverance.
Related Articles:
Recommended:
The Unfolding Word: The Story of the Bible from Creation to New Creation by Zach Keele
