Tonight, as I read the final chapters of Jeremiah, I was reminded of something simple but incredibly reassuring: God can stir a person’s heart in whatever direction He chooses.
We can spend so much time wondering how something will happen. Who will say yes? Who will open the door? Where will the provision come from? How will a situation change?
Jeremiah 51–52 reminded me that while people make decisions, God is never limited by human power, position or influence.
God Can Stir the Hearts of Kings
Jeremiah 51:1, 11 — God Can Move People to Accomplish His Purposes
“I will stir up a destroyer against Babylon…”
“For the Lord has inspired the kings of the Medes to march against Babylon…” — Jeremiah 51:1, 11
Babylon looked almost untouchable. Yet God declared that He would stir another nation against it. The kings of the Medes may have had their own political motivations, but Scripture pulls back the curtain and shows us something deeper: God was at work.
It reminded me of Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he guides it wherever he pleases.”
That is comforting in seasons where part of what we are praying for depends on another person’s decision.
In business, perhaps an opportunity requires someone’s approval. In marriage, we may be praying for God to work in both our hearts. In leadership or community, we may need favour with people who have authority. In purpose, we may be waiting for someone to recognise or support what God has placed in our hands.
Our responsibility is obedience. God is capable of handling hearts.
We don’t have to manipulate people into saying yes. We can pray, prepare, show up faithfully and trust God with what happens next.
God Has Not Abandoned You
Jeremiah 51:5 — Discipline Is Not the Same as Abandonment
“For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has not abandoned Israel and Judah. He is still their God…” — Jeremiah 51:5
This stood out because Israel and Judah were experiencing the consequences of serious disobedience. Their circumstances could easily have looked like evidence that God had left them.
Yet God says, essentially: They are still Mine.
What a reminder.
There are seasons when our circumstances do not look like the promises of God. There can be waiting, rebuilding, financial pressure, disappointment, mistakes, delayed answers or consequences from choices we wish we had made differently.
But a difficult chapter does not automatically mean God has abandoned the story.
He is still God in the rebuilding. Still God in the waiting. Still God when correction is necessary. Still God when the promise feels far away.
“I Will Be Your Lawyer”
Jeremiah 51:36 — Some Battles Belong to God
One of my favourite statements in these chapters was:
“I will be your lawyer to plead your case, and I will avenge you.” — Jeremiah 51:36
There is something deeply freeing about this.
Not every misunderstanding requires our defence. Not every injustice requires us to fight endlessly to prove ourselves. Not every closed door requires us to force it open.
Sometimes God says, “Give Me the case.”
This doesn’t mean becoming passive. We still act wisely, communicate clearly, set boundaries and do what is right. But we don’t have to carry the exhausting responsibility of controlling every outcome.
Whether in business, relationships, leadership or community, there will be moments when we have done what we can.
Then we trust the Advocate.
God Can Use Whoever He Chooses
Jeremiah 51:19–20 — The Instrument Is Not the Source
Jeremiah describes God as the Creator of everything and then speaks of an instrument in His hands:
“You are my battle-ax and sword…” — Jeremiah 51:20
This reminds me that God can accomplish His purposes through people, systems, organisations, governments and circumstances we would never have predicted.
We sometimes decide beforehand what answered prayer should look like.
God will use this person.
The opportunity will come through this organisation.
This relationship will open the door.
But God is not restricted to the route we imagined.
The person God uses may simply be an instrument. God remains the Source.
That distinction helps us remain grateful without turning people into idols.
Remember God Even When You Are Far From Home
Jeremiah 51:50 — Don’t Let the Waiting Season Make You Forget
“Remember the Lord, though you are in a far-off land, and think about your home in Jerusalem.” — Jeremiah 51:50
This feels like a word for anyone living between where they are and where they believe God is taking them.
Babylon was not home.
And God essentially told His people: while you are here, don’t forget Me, and don’t forget where you belong.
Sometimes we become so consumed with surviving the current season that we stop looking toward what God promised.
But waiting does not have to erase expectation.
You can build faithfully where you are while still believing God for what is ahead.
The Bible Records the Dates
Jeremiah 52 — God Is Present in the Details of Our Story
Something else I loved about Jeremiah 52 was how specific it became about time.
January 15.
The ninth year.
The thirty-seventh year of Jehoiachin’s exile.
March 31.
These weren’t vague events floating somewhere in history. They happened on days, in months and across years.
That struck me because sometimes our waiting feels like a collection of dates too.
The day we started.
The month the door closed.
The year we began rebuilding.
The anniversary of the prayer that still hasn’t been answered.
Scripture’s attention to chronology reminds me that God works within real human timelines.
And then comes one of the most beautiful endings imaginable.
After 37 Years, Kindness Walked Into the Story
Jeremiah 52:31–34 — Your Current Condition Is Not Necessarily Your Final One
Jehoiachin had been in exile for thirty-seven years when Evil-merodach became king of Babylon.
Then suddenly:
“He was kind to Jehoiachin and released him from prison…”
His clothes changed.
His position changed.
His access changed.
His provision changed.
He went from prison clothes to dining regularly in the king’s presence.
And what fascinates me is who God used.
The Babylonian empire was hardly presented as righteous. Yet this Babylonian king showed kindness to Judah’s king.
It reminded me again: God can use unexpected people to accomplish His purposes.
We should be careful about deciding beforehand who God can and cannot use to bless us.
And after thirty-seven years, Jehoiachin’s story changed.
Sometimes God’s faithfulness is revealed not by preventing every difficult season, but by showing us that the difficult season did not get the final word.
Practical Takeaways from Jeremiah 51–52
- Pray about people’s hearts instead of trying to control them. God can influence decisions you cannot.
- Do your part and trust God with the outcome. Prepare, obey, communicate and work diligently without manipulating results.
- Don’t confuse a difficult season with abandonment. God told Israel, “I am still their God.”
- Let God plead the cases you cannot fight yourself. Wisdom may require action, but anxiety does not have to become your strategy.
- Don’t limit the vessel God can use. Help, favour and opportunity may come through unexpected people.
- Remember God while you wait. Don’t allow the temporary place to make you forget the promise.
- Pay attention to the dates. What feels like an ordinary day may eventually become the date you remember as the moment everything shifted.
Conclusion: God Is Still Writing the Story
Jeremiah ends in an unexpected way.
After judgment, destruction, exile and years of waiting, the final picture isn’t simply imprisonment.
It is release.
It is new clothes.
It is a new position.
It is provision.
It is a seat at the king’s table.
And perhaps that is one of the final lessons Jeremiah leaves us with: God is sovereign over people, nations, timing and outcomes.
So tonight, I’m reminded not to obsess over how God will do something.
He can stir kings.
He can raise unexpected helpers.
He can plead our case.
He can sustain us while we wait.
And when the appointed time comes, He can change circumstances that looked permanent.
Prayer
Father, thank You for reminding me that You are sovereign over every person, decision, circumstance and season of my life.
Help me to obey You without trying to control outcomes. When I am waiting for doors to open or people’s hearts to change, remind me that You are able to direct hearts according to Your purposes.
Teach me to recognise You as my Source, regardless of the vessel You choose to use. When I feel forgotten, remind me that You have not abandoned me. When I am tempted to fight every battle myself, teach me to trust You to plead my case.
Give me grace to remain faithful in seasons that feel like exile and hopeful when the waiting becomes long.
And just as Jehoiachin’s story changed after thirty-seven years, remind me that no circumstance is too established for You to transform according to Your will.
May I trust Your timing, recognise Your hand and remain obedient until Your purposes are fulfilled.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The Candid Christian 
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