What Am I Doing With My Life?

Babylon had taken God’s people from Jerusalem into exile. Jeremiah’s letter addresses people living far from home, while false prophets encouraged misleading expectations about their future. God tells them their exile will last seventy years, and He tells them how to live faithfully during that long wait: ‘Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce. Marry and have children.’ Houses and gardens require investment. God is telling the exiles to establish a life rather than put everything on hold until they return home. God doesn’t want you sitting around waiting, He wants you to work and invest in what’s around you right now. Their circumstances are painful, but they still have responsibilities, relationships, and opportunities worth investing in. Purpose begins with faithful investment in what is actually in front of them. This letter was written to people literally waiting for the promised land, and to all of humanity living on earth waiting to get into Heaven. Ask yourself: what have you stopped investing in because you are waiting for your life to change?

Then God says something surprising: ‘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.’ Seek the good of Babylon — the city that captured you and is filled with idols. Peace and prosperity translates shalom: well-being, wholeness, and flourishing. Their houses, gardens, families, and prayers now have an outward purpose: to contribute to the good of the people around them. Knowing their ‘why’ changes their ‘what.’ Building a home or planting a garden becomes part of being a faithful, life-giving presence in a difficult place. Jesus says it this way in Matthew 5:16: let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. As we head toward Thanksgiving and Christmas, be intentional. Who could benefit from your presence this week? Name a person and a practical way to serve them.

‘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. 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.’ This promise was given to an exiled community facing a long wait, and it is also written prophetically to every human who has ever lived. You are here on earth for your whole life — don’t waste it. This scripture adds to Love God, Love People: if we call out, He hears us, and we make the most of every moment with the people around us. The enemy will try to convince you of what your life should be and make you forget why. When that happens you fall into routine and feel empty. People who don’t know Jesus personally buy into this lie, making their lives about power and money and everything else God says He gives freely. God promises strength when we need it and provision when we need it. Pastor Matt has been in many hospital rooms: he has never heard anyone say ‘I should have invested more in my 401k, or bought this one car, or got a bigger house.’ Every single time it’s about people — ‘I wish I talked to so and so. Please love each other more.’