“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
Downturns in life happen, often with unsettling regularity. Our reaction to these events often resemble the animal kingdom. Like an ostrich, we bury our heads in the sand and hope reality will change while we hide. Or, like a bull caught in a net, we fight, kick, and scream until exhausted, we collapse physically, mentally, or emotionally. In Texas, armadillos are sort of an unofficial state mascot. When frightened, they jump three or four feet in the air to allude the threat. Though perhaps effective against other animals, this vertical leap defense proves smashingly ineffective against vehicles on the road.
So without pretending, fighting, or jumping in the wrong direction, how do Christ-followers navigate the downturns of life? In Jeremiah 29, the prophet is writing a letter to the Jewish captives in Babylon. God allowed military defeat and their removal from the land He had given to their nation’s patriarch, Abraham. Now, Jeremiah is informing them of how to conduct themselves as captives in a foreign land. Quite the downturn for the once prosperous nation!
Let’s look at one “discipline in the downturn,” which is, seeking peace through prayer.
Pray for Adaptability
There is perhaps no more celebrated coach than John Wooden. He coached the UCLA men’s basketball team from 1948 to 1975 and won an unprecedented ten division one championships, including a mind-blowing seven in a row! He defined adaptability as “being able to adjust to any situation at any given time.”
In downturns, God positions us to cleanse, refine, and mature our faith, which requires adaptability. Jeremiah 29:4 says, “whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon;” God says to Israel, “I caused your captivity!” Downturns can be sentinel moments given by God to clarify the essential things in our lives and allow us to focus on them like never before.
Prayer is not about conforming God to our plan. Prayer is about God conforming our heart, mind, will, and emotions to His plan for us!
Think about this situation for a moment; God in His chastising love for Israel caused their captivity to realign their focus in life. God instructs them to focus on their homes and family. Instead of fighting, ignoring, or even running for their lives, Israel is challenged to build houses! Plant gardens, and eat the fruit. Marry the love of their life and start a family!
Don’t think for a moment this was a new utopia for Israel. It was not. They were captives to an evil dictator king who desired the worship of his nation as a god. It was no utopia. Don’t assume Israel immediately understood or embraced this instruction, either. God “caused” their captivity in part because they had sacrificed their children in the fire to Molech, a false god, while free in Jerusalem! (Jeremiah 32:35) God intended for this downturn to change Israel and restore their relationship with God.
In the latest downturn in your life, what would God have you turn away from and focus on with clarity? Don’t miss the opportunity to adapt and live life as God intended for you to live it!
Pray for Patience
Listen to what God says next in Jeremiah 29:7, “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” God says, seek peace where you live, right now! Don’t go looking for peace somewhere else. Don’t wait to find peace, embrace peace, now!
No doubt, some in Israel thought, “Seek peace? I can’t speak the language. I don’t understand the culture. I am offended by their customs and traditions! Their way of life is so weird and unsettling, how could I ever be at peace with them?”
James 1:3, in the New Testament, says this, “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” God was looking for a more patient Israel. Paul said 1 Corinthians 13 that one defining characteristic of love is that it is patient! God desires for His people to demonstrate His love and kindness through patience. Especially when dealing with an enemy!
There is a promise wrapped in this little verse at the end, don’t miss it! It says, “for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” Wow! As a person demonstrates patience and peace with others, God promises that individual peace as well. This peace is the peace that passes ALL understanding.
How does it work? No one knows; it passes all understanding. Amid a horrible situation, God made His peace available to His people. In your downturn, it is available to you! Ask Him to show you how to find it. James 1:4, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Pray for Discernment
Discernment has many shades of meaning and definitions, which can make it challenging to define, much less understand. At its root, however, discernment is the ability to separate fact from fiction.
Lack of discernment can be as simple as being too optimistic. In a downturn, we want to believe that it will be over and done in no time flat. You know, it is sort of like tripping and falling in public. You jump up as fast as you can regardless of how bad it hurt and hope no one noticed even quickly scanning around to see if there is a witness! Lack of discernment, when it materializes in over-optimism, undervaluing the risks, and underestimating an opponent’s, strength leads to many failures.
Paul lists spiritual discernment among spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 12:10, “to another discerning of spirits:” The writer of Hebrews says this, Hebrews 5:14, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Finally, the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle, 1 John 4:1, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”
Downturns tend to produce many false narratives. The challenge is to discern fact from fiction. Jeremiah challenges the captives not to be deceived by false predictions but to embrace the truth though far less appealing in Jeremiah 29:8-9. Later, Paul warned young Timothy that sound doctrine (truth) would be rejected, 2 Timothy 4:3–4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
When you find yourself in a downturn, stay close to Biblical truth!
Prayer changes things. Our heart, mind, will, and emotions are chief among those things!
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6–7
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Excellent lesson, thanks Jeff. Jeremiah 29:4 is a great reminder for me to hear AGAIN.
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Praise the Lord! I am so glad!
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Thanks Jeff, such great biblical truths in this lesson and such a time for us to be learn or to be reminded of them
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There is much to take away from this. Since working in businesses in 2001 in internal audit/risk assessment (mostly), there has been a big shift in the needs of those God has been equipping me to help. In February 2001 (seven months before 9/11/2001), it was finding out the pervasiveness and magnitude of the gaping hole in the financial infrastructure that the enemy used (from rolling blackouts when “lights were out” on the coast for deregulation and data breaches from the growth of the data age for honest businesses being new to technology) to infiltrate into the US. From 2006 to now, it was strategizing with others how to help the “Elizabeth Smarts,” “Lacy Petersons,” “Whitney Houstons,” of the world and their children. From 2011 to now, it was how to help the children who encountered severe harm in utero immediately prior to families escaping genocide to immigrate safely into the US. I struggle daily, and have struggled, to know if God would have us ascribe the sins of nations onto the young and/or new believers, in particular, when I am personally aware of the injustices they faced through having counseled them and/or their families, having evaluated them and/or their family members, and/or having heard their personal testimonies during interviews, etc. As I think of what God did to use His word…EVERY part of it…to cause me to think preventively, as a pilot who knows one slight degree off course…over time…could be WAY off track, then I know every part of His word can be used to essentially put a barrier shield around my life and that of my family (immediate, extended, and church). Using these scriptures preventively allows for individuals to slow down and rest to take an inward look (like routine maintenance) versus being forced to stop. Using these scriptures preventively allows for individuals to hear from God in His word in their heart so that the Holy Spirit can redirect them to answer their prayers that they may delight in the Lord and see the desires of their heart come to fruition versus being so off course, God has difficulty hearing their prayers. While I do not think we are to ever ascribe more “undue” judgment onto another in the same way there are laws against putting someone under “undue stress,” preventive use of God’s word is a great spiritual antioxidant among other things. I experienced severe injustice to me for a large number of years and multiple times each year from the outright and known persecutions and deception of at least one other that resulted in my county issuing a statement that they knew the deception and mixups caused frustration to law enforcement (placing not just me but those in uniform in danger) which then resulted in national safety measures I receive every year. I saw and experienced first hand God’s healing, provision, protection, defense, and much much more (having known ALL of that prior – 1 John 1. I knew it meant needing a proactive and preventive measure to stay discerning. If there was a need each day for discernment, it meant there that much deception that God was going to help us navigate through together. Once I realized there were “if’s” I and others had added to God’s word that He did not have in some places, then I saw more of how to use His word to take on the shield that, through any circumstance, would protect from the lies of the enemy. All His word is good. Thanks for sharing His word.
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There is much to take away from this. Since working in businesses in 2001 in internal audit/risk assessment (mostly), there has been a big shift in the needs of those God has been equipping me to help. In February 2001 (seven months before 9/11/2001), it was finding out the pervasiveness and magnitude of the gaping hole in the financial infrastructure that the enemy used (from rolling blackouts when “lights were out” on the coast for deregulation and data breaches from the growth of the data age for honest businesses being new to technology) to infiltrate into the US. From 2006 to now, it was strategizing with others how to help the “Elizabeth Smarts,” “Lacy Petersons,” “Whitney Houstons,” of the world and their children. From 2011 to now, it was how to help the children who encountered severe harm in utero immediately prior to families escaping genocide to immigrate safely into the US. I struggle daily, and have struggled, to know if God would have us ascribe the sins of nations onto the young and/or new believers, in particular, when I am personally aware of the injustices they faced through having counseled them and/or their families, having evaluated them and/or their family members, and/or having heard their personal testimonies during interviews, etc. As I think of what God did to use His word…EVERY part of it…to cause me to think preventively, as a pilot who knows one slight degree off course…over time…could be WAY off track, then I know every part of His word can be used to essentially put a barrier shield around my life and that of my family (immediate, extended, and church). Using these scriptures preventively allows for individuals to slow down and rest to take an inward look (like routine maintenance) versus being forced to stop. Using these scriptures preventively allows for individuals to hear from God in His word in their heart so that the Holy Spirit can redirect them to answer their prayers that they may delight in the Lord and see the desires of their heart come to fruition versus being so off course, God has difficulty hearing their prayers. While I do not think we are to ever ascribe more “undue” judgment onto another in the same way there are laws against putting someone under “undue stress,” preventive use of God’s word is a great spiritual antioxidant, among other things. I experienced severe injustice to me for a large number of years and multiple times each year from the outright and known persecutions and deception of at least one other that resulted in my county issuing a statement that they knew the deception and mixups caused frustration to law enforcement (placing not just me but those in uniform in danger), which then resulted in national safety measures I receive every year. I saw and experienced, first hand, God’s healing, provision, protection, defense, and much much more (having known ALL of that prior – 1 John 1). I knew it meant needing a proactive and preventive measure to stay discerning. If there was a need each day for discernment, it meant there was that much deception that God was going to help us navigate through together. Once I realized there were “if’s” I and others had added to God’s word that He did not have in some places, then I saw more of how to use His word to take on the shield that, through any circumstance, would protect from the lies of the enemy. All His word is good. Thanks for sharing His word.
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