Seek the Welfare of the City: A Prophetic Call to Be Different
There are challenges ahead for us in 2025—but God, being God, is already there, waiting for us—not to confront us, but to be with us. We can draw encouragement from the truth that God has a plan. It’s not Plan A, B, or C. More like this is what He will do—and He does so from a standpoint of supremacy in all things—’Lordship,’ if you like. Asserting Himself in omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience, His purpose never fails, despite how things may seem to the human eye.
In Jeremiah 29:7, God delivers a word that seems upside-down, topsy-turvy:
“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.”
Write that verse in your journal. You are going to come across it again in the future—at least once if you read your Bible properly.
Think about it: God’s people are in Babylon—not by accident, but by His design. Exiles in a foreign land, surrounded by a culture that doesn’t worship their God, yet here He is telling them, Dig in. Invest. Bless.
This word feels especially relevant as we step into another year filled with challenge and uncertainty. It’s tempting to retreat, isn’t it? To circle the wagons, build our own little fortresses, watch the four warhorses galloping about, and wait it out. But God’s call to His people, then and now, is to engage—not to escape, hide, or go AWOL.
Seek the Welfare
Babylon wasn’t home for the Israelites, just as this world, in a sense, isn’t our home either. Yet God told them to settle down, build houses, plant gardens, marry, and have children. In other words, invest where He’s placed you, wherever you are—your workplace, your neighbourhood, your city—you’re not there randomly. God has sent you. God chose the place you are to live. (Acts 17:26)
And the call is clear: Seek the city’s welfare—not just survive in it or tolerate it. Seek its wellbeing—its wholeness, its flourishing because, amazingly, in its welfare, you’ll find your own. This isn’t about retreating into safe spaces or standing against culture from the sidelines. It’s about embodying God’s blessing, creating beauty, and mending brokenness right where we are.
Pray to the Lord
Pray for the city. It’s not just action; it’s intercession. When we pray for our city, we begin to see it differently. We begin to love it—not for what it is, but for what God desires it to become. As we do so, we’ll discover afresh that prayer softens our hearts and aligns them with His.
Be Different
This is where it gets radical. We’re called to love the city—even when it doesn’t love us back. That’s what makes this so Christlike. Jesus didn’t avoid the mess of humanity; He stepped into it fully. He was for people—healing, restoring, redeeming. And now, we are His people, called to do the same.
This is our moment—a moment to build, bless, and pray. Step into the culture—not to conform to it, but to transform it with the hope and light of the gospel.
When the city flourishes, God’s glory shines.