Verse of the Day for July 17

These words were written in a letter. Jeremiah sent it to the exiles in Babylon, people carried away from home and told by false prophets they would be back soon. Jeremiah told them the truth. Seventy years. Build houses. Plant gardens. Pray for the city.

Then comes this: Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. The word then matters. The promise is not that the door opens tomorrow. It is that God is listening the whole time it stays closed.

And the seeking he asks for is not casual: when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Searching is what you do for something lost, turning out drawers, looking under the bed. God says, look for me like that, and I will be found of you. He lets himself be found.

Only after that does he speak about roads home: I will turn away your captivity. The open door comes from the God who was found, not the other way round.

If you are in a place you did not choose, a city far from home, a job you feel stuck in, begin by searching for him there. Doors open from inside that search.

God hears in exile as clearly as he hears at home.

Search for him as you would search for something precious you have lost.