Singing the Lord’s Song in a Foreign Land

Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7, NASB)

The captive Israelites who were taken to Babylon were the brightest and the best of the nation, taken to put their talents to work for a foreign government. They longed to return to Jerusalem, hoping that their exile would only last a few years. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God told them that it would actually last seventy years — longer than they could imagine. What were they to do in this foreign land that they hated?

God gave them this command. They were to seek the welfare of the city to which he had sent them. This is the command of God for all Christians today, for we often find ourselves living in place we would rather not be. We will only make our lives more miserable if we weep and moan about our circumstances, hanging our harps on the willows as some of the Israelites did when they came to Babylon, crying, “How shall we sing the Lord’s son in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4).

The truth is that we can sing the Lord’s song anywhere. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1).

There will be people and enjoyable things that we miss in our new places. We will miss restaurants, old friends, favorite foods, family, loved ones, familiar vistas, weather we are accustomed to, and local culture. We will miss the comfortableness of our former place, the house we used to live in, the sports we used to play, and more than we can name here. But none of these things should be more important to us than Christ, or more important than the mission he has called us to fulfill. We need to Christians who are “instant in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2), who are ready to serve God regardless of where they are.

As we learn to care for people in the new place, as we learn to make a difference for Christ there, we find that we prosper — emotionally, spiritually, socially, and often financially. Put God first, see your mission that God has given you in the new place, and set your heart about it, making a difference for Christ. You will find that God will use you there, grow you in your faith, give you his joy and peace, and, as you serve, in your spirit you will hear his Spirit say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Get your eyes off of yourself and put them on the needs around you, and you can make a difference for Christ wherever on this earth he places you.

(And, by the way, I needed to hear this today as much as anyone else.)