Seek the Welfare
READ
The exiles in Babylon faced a devastating reality. Everything familiar had been stripped away—their temple destroyed, their city ruined, their freedom gone. They were foreigners in a hostile land, surrounded by paganism and oppression. Surely God would tell them to hunker down, maintain their purity, and wait for rescue, right?
Instead, God's word through Jeremiah was shockingly practical.
Let’s take a moment to read Jeremiah 29:4-7:
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
REFLECT
Read that again. God told His people to invest in the very place of their captivity. Not just to survive there, but to contribute to its flourishing. To pray for it. To work for its good. The city's prosperity and their own were bound together.
This is the call of redemptive presence. The Ecclesia—the called-out and gathered people of God—exists not for itself but for the sake of the world. We're called to be a blessing wherever we find ourselves, even in territory that feels foreign or hostile to our values.
Think about Jesus' words in Matthew 5. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect—not in moral superiority, but in His indiscriminate goodness. God causes His sun to rise on both the evil and the good; His rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous alike. That's the kind of presence we're called to be.
This is radical stuff. Our natural instinct is to retreat into Christian subculture, to build our own separate neighborhoods, schools, and businesses where we're safe from worldly contamination. Or we go the opposite direction—compromising our distinctiveness to fit in completely. But redemptive presence is a third way: fully engaged but not absorbed, actively blessing but not identical.
What does this look like practically? It means you don't wait for your city council to be filled with Christians before you care about local policy. It means your presence in the PTA, the neighborhood association, or the workplace makes those spaces better. It means you're known as someone who contributes, who serves, who makes things flourish.
Redemptive presence means you bring God's goodness into every sphere you inhabit. Maybe it's the quality of your work, the kindness of your customer service, or the way you advocate for overlooked colleagues. Maybe it's volunteering at the food bank, beautifying a neglected park, or mentoring a struggling student. These aren't just nice activities—they're expressions of your mission.
The beautiful promise embedded in Jeremiah's instruction is this: "In its welfare you will find your welfare." When we work for the flourishing of our communities, we flourish too. This isn't selfishness; it's the recognition that we're interconnected. Your neighborhood's health affects your health. Your city's peace contributes to your peace.
You are sent as a redemptive presence—not to condemn the world but to bring blessing to it. Not to withdraw in fear but to engage with courage. Not to wait for perfect conditions but to plant gardens in the midst of exile, trusting that God is already at work and inviting you to join Him.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
What would it look like to actively "seek the welfare" of your specific community—your neighborhood, workplace, or city?
Where have you been tempted to either withdraw from the world or compromise your distinctiveness? How might redemptive presence offer a different path?
What gifts, resources, or opportunities has God given you that could contribute to the flourishing of those around you?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Father, forgive me for the times I've chosen isolation over engagement, or blending in over distinctive blessing. Help me see the places You've positioned me not as exile but as mission. Give me creative wisdom to know how to make my community better and courageous love to actually do it. May my presence bring Your flourishing wherever I go. Amen.