Planted With Purpose: Trusting God in Difficult Places

I am a huge fan of useless information. Some of you are not surprised by that one bit. My wife especially. I think I had mentioned this before but I am no fun to take to a museum or zoo because you better believe I am reading EVERY SINGLE PLACARD. I paid good money for that information!

Well I was doing some research for this sermon specifically about trees and different characteristics of them.

For example, have you heard of something called Crown Shyness? Its a phenomenon where the tops of trees intentionally don’t touch the tops of neighboring trees. Its beautiful and scientists are still trying to figure out why trees do it.

Or, did you know that you can use trees to help if you get lost in the woods? Moss will grow on the north side of the trunks where there is more shade.

There you go, you don’t even have to visit a museum and you got some fun facts for the day.

This morning, I want to tell you about one specific specie of tree though. Its found right here in America in the southern states and its called the Live Oak.

These trees are incredible for many reasons but the one I want to share with you today is their resiliancy to intense winds and storms.

Out of the 700 live oaks that were in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, only 4 were uprooted.

The reason these trees are so wind and storm resistant is because the wood of their trunks and branches are spiraled so they flex and bend with the wind. They're also have a very low center of gravity with a wide and deep root system.

Just like these incredible trees withstanding storms and wind, we also have to withstand the chaos of this world…but maybe not in the way that you think.

We have an obligation to model Kingdom peace in a world that is increasingly sinful and, unless the Lord is coming back soon, isn’t going to change.

If you have your Bibles, were going to be in Jeremiah 29:4-9

Jeremiah 29:4–9 (CSB)

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

To understand Jeremiah’s letter fully, we need to have context for the situation.

Jeremiah was a prophet sent to Isreal by God to basically call them out for all of the, you know, idol worship and general disobedience that they were unrepentantly participating in.

God tells the Israelite people that because of their disobedience He is going let the Babylonians conquer not only Israel but all of the other smaller nations surrounding them.

And thats exactly what happens. Babylon comes in, defeats Israel, destroys the temple (which is a huge deal) and then carries off a whole pile of captives. Including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendago.

This invasion and captivity was DEVASTATING for the Israelite people because their whole concept of religion and a relationship wit God was based on a location, the Temple. Thats where God physically was! So without a temple, how could they be Gods people.

In this passage, we catch up with the Israelites just a couple of years into their captivity. They are now living in Babylon for better or worse. Away from their family, their homeland, and at that time, their God.

I think they might have had some mixed feelings receiving this letter from Jeremiah. After all, he was the one well before the captivity who was telling them what God had planned and what was in store for the people because of their disobedience.

I’m sure the hope of the people who were in captivity was that they would be rescued and God was coming to get them.

Unfortunately, Jeremiah knew that they would be there for a while and because of that, his instructions were a bit different.

Quite often, when faced with difficult circumstances, we have such a desire to be whisked away. For God to come in and scoop us up so that we don’t have to deal with how terrible this world is. Whether it be sickness, ridicule, a flat tire that once you put the spare on, gets loose, ruins the studs and you have to pay to get your car towed back to your house…

We pray for rescue, for escape. But sometimes that isn’t the plan that God has for us. Sometimes His plan involves us digging deeper into the spaces where we already are and for us to be the peace in the chaos.

Look at verses 4 and 5.

Jeremiah 29:4–5 CSB

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

The peoples hope was rescue. For them to be saved and their problems to be solved but instead God tells them to Build Houses and Plant Gardens.

Just a quick question, If you built a house and planted a garden, would you plan on leaving it anytime soon? Of course not! You’re putting down roots! You’re making plans for the future. Meeting neighbors and trying to figure out the best place for the swing set for the kids that you don’t have yet.

If you have picked a plot of land to build a house, odds are you’re also going to really like that spot. You wouldn’t choose a piece of property with a bad view or one that was next to a dump. You would chose one that you enjoy!

This is a challenge to us to be content with where we are at in this life. We should be happy with what God has given us! We certainly shouldn’t be looking at our neighbors and friends and wishing we had what they did.

If anything, we as christians, should be an example of peace and thankfulness in a world whose only goal is what can I do to get ahead.

If you find yourself discontent with what you have, we also see encouragement to make our station better! We have been given the instruction to plant gardens. We have a responsibility to take care of those in our home and to provide for them.

Work hard! Get your hands dirty and reap that harvest that you’ve toiled over.

Our instruction doesn’t end with just a command to settle down, oh no. Look at verse 6.

Jeremiah 29:6 CSB

Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.

Can I tell you something? The best day of my life, after following Jesus, was asking Jen to marry me. And thank God she said yes. There is no greater joy in the world than sharing the highs and the lows with someone who loves Jesus as much as you do.

The three best following days, were the births of my girls. I LOVE being a dad. Is it hard? Absolutely. Do they challenge me? Of course. But they way they light up when I come home, or come to me with problems to solve, or watching them grow and learn is worth every little bit.

This command from God to these exiles is one that is given over and over in scripture. To be fruitful and multiply.

Listen when I say this, The absolute greatest ministry that you can have in this world, is the ministry right under your roof.

The sin in this world has twisted and ruined what God created the family to be and its our responsibility as followers of Christ to model what He intended.

Psalm 127:3–5 (CSB)

Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons born in one’s youth.

Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. They will never be put to shame when they speak with their enemies at the city gate.

We have an obligation to love our wives/husbands well and to raise our children in the Lord.

There are so many people my age and younger who are refusing to have children because they don’t want to subject them to the difficulties of this world that we live in.

The exiles in Babylon were hoping for a quick fix and a return to the homeland but Jeremiah prophesied that they wouldn’t return for 70 years. They were living under the rule of a nation that conquered their homeland, destroyed their temple and carried a large majority of them to live in a foreign land.

Things couldn’t get much worse for them but STILL God commanded that they raise families in that environment. Why? So that they wouldn’t diminish!

Do you know that the fastest growing religion in the world is Islam? Why is that? Simple, because of higher birth rates. By 2050 Christians and Muslims will make up nearly equal shares of the worlds population.

These numbers are just projections and things could change but if they don’t, thats the direction things are heading.

Now I don’t tell you this to scare you. I just wan’t you to be aware of why God would command these exiles, who were living in world that was completely opposed to them, to actively raise children.

Just like these exiles, we have been charged with increasing rather than diminishing.

Last point here, Lets look at verse 7. This might be the hardest command yet.

Jeremiah 29:7 CSB

Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

Before we get into the command that God has for these people (and us), lets recap really quickly so we don’t forget where we are in the story.

The Israelites were decimated by an invading Babylonian army. There cities were destroyed, friends and family were killed, and the Temple, where God resided, was demolished. THEN, a large majority of the remnant were carried away from Israel to remain as captives, in Babylon, for who knows how long.

Now God is commanding them to pursue the well-being of the city. The city of their captors. Hes telling them to pray for these people that they would THRIVE!

I’ll tell you this, if i was in these Israelite's shoes, I would be praying alright but my prayers would look significantly different than what God is commanding here. I would look a lot more like the end of Psalm 137. Which by the way, was a lament that the people prayed when they were first captured and finally made it to Babylon.

Actually lets look at that quick

Psalm 137 (CSB)

By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. There we hung up our lyres on the poplar trees, for our captors there asked us for songs, and our tormentors, for rejoicing:

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” How can we sing the Lord’s song on foreign soil? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem as my greatest joy! Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem: “Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!”

Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us. Happy is he who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rocks.

This is the prayer that I would be praying. A prayer of vengeance and destruction after having to watch what these people have done to my family and homeland.

But instead, God commands the complete opposite. Why is that? Where is the DEVINE RETRIBUTION? Well we see it a couple of times in this Jeremiah passage.

This entire captivity and the destruction of the temple was God Ordained. In verse 4 God says “I deported” again in verse 7, “I deported”. Even earlier in the book of Jeremiah He calls Nebuchadnezzer his servant and lays out that this is all because of the Israelites disobedience.

Even in the midst of all of this chaos and turmoil, who is in control?

Because of that, we have a duty to be the best possible citizens this nation and world has ever scene. One of the many things that I love about this congregation is the intentional ways of being Christ in and around this building. From our food pantry to the House of Hope to Narcotic Anonymous to the jail ministries. We are making an IMPACT! We are pursuing the well being of this city!

For those of you who are actively involved in these ministries, I thank you. For those of you who are not, I would HIGHLY encourage you to reach out and find someplace to serve the people of Lapeer county. We have a mandate to pursue the betterment of the community around us.

In addition we are called to pray for this city, county, state, nation, world, as well! Pray for peace and success, for jobs to increase and homelessness to decrease. Pray for the leaders that are christians and especially for those who aren’t.

Pray for people who don’t look like you and who don’t hold the same values as you. Pray that they would be good parents and spouses. That they would show discernment in the policies that are put into place. Not because its what YOU want, but because its what GOD commands.

This passage closes with a warning from God concerning false prophets

Jeremiah 29:8–9 CSB

For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

The Israelite people wanted so badly to be rescued from this captivity. As anyone would and because of this, false prophets and and diviners had cropped up preaching a message that the people wanted to hear. A message of rescue and early release, of retribution and vengeance on the Babylonian people. This was light work compared to the truth that Jeremiah was preaching.

Jeremiah, for almost this whole book is lamenting the fact that he had to preach this message of destruction to the people. He didn’t want to tell people this very bad news and now there are folks cropping up preaching the exact opposite because they knew they would get likes, or they would get elected, or they would make money…see what I’m getting at.

These same prophets are still around. Preaching the same message that tickles our ears. The things we want to hear. The things that are easy. The things that don’t require much from us.

But, as we’ve seen, Gods plans look so much different than what our sinful hearts desire.

Just like the resilient Live Oak tree, we are called to stand firm and flourish even in the storms of life. Those trees don’t stand because the storms are gentle—they stand because they’re deeply rooted, flexible, and resilient. They grow strong in challenging environments, much like we are called to do as God’s people.

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us:

“For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

The Israelites wanted immediate rescue, but God’s plan was for them to grow, build, and bless others in the very place of their captivity. The same is true for us today. God’s plans for us may not always align with our desire for escape or ease. Instead, He calls us to trust Him, to dig deep, and to grow where we are planted.

Jeremiah 29:12–14 CSB

You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

God promises to be present with us, even in our struggles. So let’s root ourselves in His Word, trust His timing, and be the peace in a chaotic world. Let’s pray for our communities, love our families well, and live out our faith intentionally.

As C.S. Lewis once said:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

No matter where you find yourself today, be like the Live Oak—rooted, flexible, and steadfast. Trust God’s plan, and He will use you to bring hope, peace, and restoration in His perfect time.