Jeremiah 29:4-7
“Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: ‘Build houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Take wives, and father sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and don’t be diminished. Seek the shalom of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to Yahweh for it; for in its shalom you will have shalom.’”
The prophet Jeremiah delivered this message in the late 7th to early 6th century BCE to the Jewish people who had been forcibly removed from Jerusalem and exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were likely struggling with the trauma of displacement and hoping for a quick return home.
How might seeking the well-being of a place of exile or difficulty also cultivate well-being within ourselves?