Obey to Thrive!

Years ago, I was invited to spend some time at a friend's home. Though I loved her deeply, she and I had some very different ideas about things like housekeeping and child rearing and meal preparation and, well, just about everything. When the topic of getting together came up, I would always encourage her to come to my place. I would plan a menu that seemed to suit us both, and I'd brace for impact, as her parenting was a bit more permissive than mine. I planned sleeping arrangements ahead of time, and tried to make her aware of anything in our schedules which might cause her inconvenience. I waited up until she and her children arrived --usually much later than the scheduled arrival time --and assisted them in settling in. 

The time came, however, when she insisted she demonstrate hospitality toward me. I reluctantly accepted the invitation. What I anticipated would be a short visit, however, was extended, and truthfully, felt extended. Her family slept late; we were early risers. Tip-toeing around, trying to entertain children and find the supplies necessary to feed them (and make myself a bowl of coffee) was a daily issue. My quiet time with Jesus was not only logistically impossible, but I felt a very unwelcoming spirit in the house. When the day began, it was spent in perpetual activity as if I wasn't there. Errands were run, television shows were watched, arguments were had. There was nothing to entertain or engage; there were no special trips to the local park or museum. Meals were not eaten as a group; everyone ate as they saw fit, and if we ordered out, it was "Dutch." My mind went back to childhood, to those occasions where the adults would talk and children were expected to be seen, not heard. I felt as if I'd been invited merely to be held captive, and I longed for home.

I was reading Jeremiah 29 the other morning. Judah was overcome by Babylon, and many of the people had been taken captive. They had been marched from their homeland some four hundred miles to a heathen, foreign land. Their exile was judgment from God whom they had forsaken. Nevertheless, He mercifully commissioned Jeremiah to exhort the people to obey Him.

Jeremiah 29:5-7 says:

Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. 

Their captivity would last for a time --seventy years, God said --but in that time, they were not to rebel or give up. They were to live! They were to multiply and produce fruit. They were to live as God's people in a foreign land, in plain view of its people. Their presence would be a blessing to the heathen citizens of Babylon for God's glory. Their prayers for this foreign power would demonstrate God's power --power given to His people to live in joy and fullness of joy, despite the environment. Their prayers would allow the people of Babylon to experience God's kindness, meant to lead to repentance. Their prayers would bless the country and hold its people accountable: they could not claim they'd never seen God nor deny His existence. Their prayers would transform their hearts to hearts full of love for their enemies and love for the God who was still with them. Don't struggle to survive; obey to thrive! This was their time to evangelize, to shine the light of God's love in a dark world.

My mind went back to that visit. Given the opportunity again, would I be able to do that visit in a much better, much more blessed way today? Would I choose to obey to thrive? Would I sing praise songs in the shower and as I stood helping with dishes? As I tip-toed around each morning, would I seek to cover every inch of the floor in prayer? As I sat on the sofa, balancing my dinner plate on my knees, would I give thanks for the way God provided for my friend and her family? Could I take my mind off my misery long enough to do what I'm told; to build, dwell, plant, and savor; to establish relationship, edify and multiply the blessing in my friend's life for generations; to receive the peace God has for me by seeking peace in this foreign land. 

Isn't that the opportunity we are given each and every day until we are summoned home?