Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

Day 201

October 07, 2025 • Aneel Aranha • Season 3 • Episode 201

0:00 | 17:47

Discover how to trust God's counterintuitive plans through Jeremiah's message to the exiles and James' call to humble submission, learning to embrace God's difficult direction.

Day 201 – Build Houses in Babylon

Jeremiah 27, 28, 29, 24
James 4

Have you ever sat in a waiting room, checking the clock every few minutes? You don't read. You don't settle. You just wait to leave. Some of us live whole seasons that way. In Jeremiah 27 and 28, the prophet walks through Jerusalem wearing a wooden yoke. His message is hard. Bow to Babylon, because this is God's discipline. Then a prophet named Hananiah breaks that yoke in front of everyone. He promises the exiles will be home in two years. It's exactly what people want to hear. But God answers, "You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron." Within months, Hananiah is dead. So in chapter 29, Jeremiah writes to the exiles. Build houses. Plant gardens. Seek the peace and prosperity of the city where God has carried you. The famous promise of hope and a future comes in that same letter, right after the news that it will take seventy years. In chapter 24, God even calls the exiles the good figs. And James puts it simply. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. Taken together, these readings point to a God who meets us right where we are.

One theme runs through these passages. Hard seasons aren't interruptions to God's plan. They're part of it. And the people who flourish in them stop looking for a shortcut and start living faithfully where God has placed them.

So how do we live this out today? Don't wait for your exile to end before you begin to live.

First, think of the place you're most eager to leave right now. It might be a job, a city, or a hard season. Ask how you could seek its good this week, as if you were staying for years. Then pick one thing and do it.

Second, notice the voices you tune in to most. A preacher, a podcast, a friend, or the voice in your own head. Ask yourself honestly. Do you trust them because they're true, or because they promise the quickest way out?

Third, before you lock in today's plans, remember what James says. If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. Say it out loud over your day. Then notice how it loosens your grip on your schedule.

Wherever today takes you, hold onto this. You can build a life in Babylon without belonging to it.

Thank you for joining me today. May God give you patience in the waiting, peace in the place you are, and hope for the future He has planned. Until tomorrow, remain faithful in the small things and trust God with the rest.