Jeremiah 29:7-9. In his letter to the exiles in Babylon, Jeremiah gives them God's words to "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 find your welfare." He goes on to warn them about false prophets who are prophesying that their stay in Babylon will not be long. He says do not listen to them, "for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord."

I think I got this today because I sometimes let my attachments to my country and my family, and my selfish hope that unity can be preserved, get in the way of the messages that God is sending me. I often think "It is not that bad, we can turn this around and save our families and our national harmony." But maybe God is telling me no, my family and my country as I know them have to fall and I have to be in exile. Exile can take many forms. It can be here, we can "exile from home."

Perhaps our national exile will just be living under a completely different world order than we have ever known. If this happens, I think God wants us to get comfortable, continue to be faithful, and pray for our persecutors. But never give up the faith. That is the one thing worth fighting for, and worth losing family and national harmony over. The Church is the one institution that will defeat this evil, eventually (although it has to suffer quite a bit first, too!).