The Future for Exiles

The future is an interesting thing. It isn’t something that we know. That much is completely obvious. In some things, I can make a greater or lesser guess of what might happen. But, even in those things, I really don’t know. We don’t know the future, even though our guesses might be quite educated.

Yet, that doesn’t keep us from guessing and trying to figure out what might happen. Some of it is quite positive and even helpful. We try to estimate what our retirement funds will hold. We try to estimate our health and well-being. We even plan for the work we’ll do in our ministry, dreaming about what the future might hold for us. As we do that, we’ll be wise to submit ourselves to enjoy whatever future the Lord gives us.

Often, however, darkness hangs over our view of the future, especially when we feel the yoke of exile on our shoulders. That’s when worry and angst creep in. We worry about whether or not our retirement will last for us. We have angst regarding the results of a medical test. We are afraid, anxious, and concerned about the future of our ministry. We’re afraid, and hope begins to fade.

We can barely begin to grasp how the people of Israel felt in exile. What did their future hold? Sure, they had Jeremiah 29(11), which promised their return from exile. But if you’ve been stuck in exile for 70 years, how can you hope for a return? When you’ve seen your homeland destroyed, how can you hope for a future? When you’ve been locked up for 37 years as Jehoiachin was, and when God has told you that you will be recorded as childless, how can you ever hope to be released and even to have a child?

The truth is there is a bright dawn on the horizon when you are God’s exile and when you have God’s promises. As I’ve said before, the sun always rises. There is always a child for the childless, a son to a virgin (I’m talking metaphorically now!). Jehoiachin found that out. And so will we! We’ll find out on Sunday as we consider the odds for exiles (Jer52:31-34). Moreover, we’ll find out when our King Jesus returns.

How about this: let’s gather one more time (and then one more time after that) to wait for him together? I’ll see you on Sunday! Pastor Nate