Jeremiah 29:7
“Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its peace you will have peace.”
The prophet Jeremiah writes to Jewish exiles taken to Babylon in the 6th century BCE. They are in a foreign land, under foreign rule, and likely yearning for home. This letter advises them on how to live in their new reality, including this counter-intuitive instruction about their captors' city.
What does 'seeking the peace' of a community look like when we find ourselves in unfamiliar or challenging environments?