You will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you

I love reading the history of the people of Israel, because in it I see that waste of love of the Almighty before that people who on many occasions deviated, forgot God and did the wrong thing. However, God always sought them because He loved Israel, He always looked for a way to reunite them to serve Him. Dear friend, God is not proud like us, He seeks us even without us deserving it and being He the offended one. His patience with Israel reflects His patience with us: a persistence rooted in divine compassion, not human merit. In every episode of rebellion, failure, or forgetfulness, God extended mercy, showing that His covenant love goes far beyond human understanding.

The people of Israel had highs and lows, but God never forgot them, since they were a people with great promises from God Himself. Jeremiah says:

12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Jeremiah 29:12-14

These verses belong to the letter that the prophet Jeremiah writes to the Jewish captives in Babylon. Here Jeremiah says a great word of God to those who were being slaves in Babylon, which at that time was the most fearsome empire on earth, yet the people of Israel were held captive there for their disobedience. Despite their exile, God’s promise remained alive. Even in correction, God did not abandon them; He reminded them that if they sought Him sincerely, they would find Him. This was not only a message of judgment but a message of hope and restoration.

We are very similar to the stubborn people of Israel, and that is why God also makes us go through certain processes, but believe me, these processes are not for death; they are for God to raise us up and make us mature men and women. Just as Israel needed exile to recognize its dependence on God, we too often need moments of brokenness to understand our need for His presence. These difficult seasons become tools of transformation, drawing us closer to Him and shaping our character.

God says to them: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” The people of Israel must have been captive in order to understand that without God they were simply insignificant. Sometimes our own wandering leads us into situations that reveal our spiritual emptiness. Only then do we discover that true meaning and security come from seeking God wholeheartedly. Their exile served as a reminder that distance from God always leads to bondage, but seeking Him brings freedom and restoration.

God has promised us as well as them that if we look for Him we can find Him. Friends, God is not far from us, He is always close to answer our prayers, He is never busy to not listen to us. His nearness is constant, even when we do not feel it. The same God who bent His ear toward Israel in captivity bends His ear toward us today. He is attentive to our cries, ready to grant wisdom, comfort, and forgiveness to those who genuinely seek Him.

Just as God promised the people of Israel to come out of captivity, God has taken us out of that captivity where we were prisoners of the enemy, and He has brought us to His feet so that we may adore Him for an eternity. Our spiritual captivity was deeper than Babylonian chains, yet God broke it through the sacrifice of Christ. Now we stand in the freedom of His grace, called to worship, serve, and remain faithful. The story of Israel becomes our story too — a testimony of a God who rescues, restores, and never stops loving His people.