Daily Digest: Capstone Capsule

“I WILL VISIT YOU and PERFORM MY GOOD WORD toward you, and cause you to return to this place” – Jeremiah 29:11b

The revelation of DIVINE PERFORMANCE gives tangible reality to certain spiritual concepts: “For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed in Babylon, I WILL VISIT YOU and PERFORM MY GOOD WORD toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer.29:10-11). Our main meditation passage is encoded with truths on: Divine Visitation; Divine Plan for Restoration; Divine Timing; Divine Possibilities in God’s Thoughts; Divine Presence; and Divine Peace, all premised on proper human response, particularly passionate prayers.

Divine Visitation: denotes God’s intervention in human affairs, in a specific, supernatural way, to bring about deliverance, transformation, and the fulfillment of His promises; a moment when God "remembers" His people and changes their situation from negative to positive.

Divine Plan for Restoration: Even in exile, God had a long-term plan for His people, not for their harm but for their "shalom" – for a "future and a hope". This involved restoration to their homeland, a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34); and ultimate hope that’s found in Christ!

Divine Timing: The fulfillment of God's plan was set for a specific appointed time of 70 years. This required exercising patience and trust in God's schedule, rather than following false prophets who promised a quick return. Though God's timing may seem slow to humans, it is always perfect and aligned with His greater purposes.

Divine Possibilities in God's Thoughts: God's thoughts and plans are vast, usually personal, and transcend human comprehension or expectation (v.11). The exiles could not imagine a life of peace and prosperity in Babylon or a return to Jerusalem, but God's thoughts captured these seemingly impossible possibilities.

Divine Presence: The exiles might have felt distant from God, thinking His Presence was confined to the Jerusalem temple. The prophetic Word was assured that God was with them even in Babylon. His Presence is accessible anywhere, particularly through prayer.

Divine Peace: The Hebrew word “Shalom,” often translated as "welfare" or "peace", covers completeness, well-being, and wholeness. Shalom was accessed not by escaping their circumstances, but by seeking the good of the city where they were exiled and praying for it.

Passionate Prayer: This the crucial response to God's Plan – “Then you will CALL UPON ME and go and PRAY to ME, and I will listen to you. And you will SEEK ME and FIND ME, when you search for Me with all your heart" (vv.12-13). Sincere, wholehearted, and consistent prayer is the right means to connect with God, discern His Will, and activate the manifestation of His Promises and Presence in our lives.