The prophet Jeremiah is writing to people who have been exiled, who have been forced to move away from what they have known – into the unknown. Today this is sometimes experienced in the loss of a job, in the division of a family, when we have left our families because of family dynamics or economic circumstances or because of traumatic events. God wants us to settle in, to not let our expectations of a speedy recovery discourage us when they are not met. We are called to trust in God and live in hope for what is to come.