10/21/2026
Wednesday in the Word 10-21-26
Trusting God when it all goes wrong: Jeremiah 29:11-14
11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. 13 When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14 I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
The prophet Jeremiah had lots of bad news for the people of Judah in exile: their lack of faith a in God and their belief that they could solve their own problems had alienated them from God. That failure of trust had a terrible result: their city and temple destroyed, their people carried away as exiles in Babylon. These exiles struggled with the feeling of abandonment, with hopelessness, and with guilt. They looked to the prophet, himself a refugee in Egypt, for word from God, and much of it was hard: they had been faithless, they had forsaken God, they had trusted in their own power instead of the power of God.
As they continued to turn back to Jeremiah to intercede for them, the word changed: a promise of a hopeful future, of renewed relationship between God and each of them and all of them .
It’s easy to trust when things are going right. “I’m blessed!” people proclaim; but that is a shaky foundation for faith, because things can become very hard and yet God is with us even then, maybe even more so. It took decades for the exiles to realize that God was there even in the bad times, that their hope and trust came from God’s righteousness, not their own.
In our times, people also struggle with the idea that good experiences equal God’s presence and approval and hard times are a punishment from God. But life is more complex than that: good things can happen to bad people, and bad things can (and do!) happen to good people. Jeremiah’s word to the people in the exile is a word to us too: God gives us a future with hope, if we will trust in God no matter the circumstances. We are never abandoned by God, and when we are distant, God is eagerly waiting for us to turn again to the light and trust in our Creator who has never abandoned us.
Prayer: God, it’s easy for us to forget your closeness when we are beset with trouble. But our circumstances are not a sign of abandonment. Like the exiles in Babylon, we need your help to understand the promise of a hopeful future, of your presence that is already waiting for us to turn to you in prayer and trust. Open our hearts when we feel fearful and alone, so that we may discover a fullness of life based in your love instead of the circumstance of a moment. We give thanks that your steadfast love endures forever, that you are never far from us, and that you hear all our prayers and pleas. Teach us your ways, so that in all things we may walk in the light of your love. Amen.
Rev. Mimi Biedron
