Jeremiah chapter 24. DISASTER comes before the FRUIT.

God shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs. One really good basket of figs and one with really bad baskets of figs. God says just like the basket of good figs is how I regard the people of Judah who are taken into exile by the Babylonians.

1) God says he will give the people in exile a new heart to know him.

2) He will plant his truth into their lives so that they grow in him.

3) He will build them up.
This chapter gives me a flashback of Nations, such as China, who are anti-God and persecute Christians. The people living under such a nation have no religious freedom, yet God begins to produce good figs. The people are in captivity yet God watches over them and he has a plan to bring people back to him. He begins to build up a group of people who have a heart for Him and plants seeds of Salvation amongst the nation of China building them up in Christ.
So my thoughts think about the USA. Will we ever have a government rule that takes away our religious freedom? And if that happens, perhaps, instead of being a horrible thing, it results in a beautiful thing because it becomes a breeding ground for salvation of souls. History says, during these times when Nations shut down God, it's then God begins to produce good baskets of figs. It's then he begins to give people a heart to know him. It's then they are planted and build up in him so they become a light of Truth and Salvation to a dark anti-God world. History also says that Nations who have religious freedoms end up producing bad baskets of figs because Christians become lax in their faith. They don't produce fruit they just exist.  But Nations whose religious freedoms are taken away, becomes the place where God raises up Christians who become committed and zealous and are compelled by his Holy Spirit to share Jesus even if it means losing their lives. Please understand, I don't wish harm on any groups of people. But if God allowing our nation to go into exile under the rulership of an anti-God government is what it takes to see people return to the Lord and preach his salvation, then I welcome it.