I will strengthen you . . . so that all may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is no one but me. I am the LORD, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:5–6
God cannot change your high school unless He does it through you.” The evangelist behind the microphone was almost shouting. “You must be His representative on campus because He can only do His work if you let Him.”
As a teenager I attended a number of large Christian rallies. As an impressionable sixteen-year-old sitting in the audience, I’ll never forget these words coming from one of the more persuasive communicators. I remember being troubled by what I had just heard.
I grew up in a home where my father was . . . well . . . he was the father. It wasn’t that he was cruel or overbearing. In fact, we knew without any shadow of doubt that we were loved. When my dad spoke, we listened. When he told us to do something, we did it, or at least we made it look like we were doing it. A hardworking and focused man of German descent, not many people messed with Dad, especially his children.
Let’s say that as a youngster, I had an irresponsible habit of leaving my underwear on my bedroom floor—a purely hypothetical illustration, of course. And let’s say that my dad was troubled by this kind of sloppiness—as he would have been. Without question, my dad would have found a way to impress on his young son that throwing clothing on the floor was unacceptable. He would have created some kind of uncomfortable consequence if I failed to pick it up. Because he was the dad, he would have found a way to get to me. And he would have had every right to do this.
This is why the speaker’s words at the youth rally were so troublesome. If my dad takes steps to get my attention, I remember thinking, then why wouldn’t God also stay on my case until I really heard His voice? Not bad for a kid who had just gotten his driver’s license!
Today’s text tells the story of Cyrus, king of Persia. Cyrus was not a follower of Israel’s God. But incredibly, God used this man to send messages to the Jews. God called Cyrus “his anointed” (v. 1). How could this be? The answer is simple and profound. Please do not miss this.
When God wants to do something, He will use whomever He chooses to accomplish exactly what He wants. If God had wanted to show up at my high school and speak to my buddies, He could have done it through a janitor or a teacher or the president of the student council. There is nothing God cannot do.
Who is God using right now in your life to talk to you? Is He telling you something through your boss, who may or may not have any idea who God is? Has He recently sent you a message by way of something you just read on the internet? Is He talking to you through your children? Your wife? Or your neighbor?
If my dad would have stopped at nothing to let me know how he felt about my underwear on the floor, the sovereign and almighty God will not stand around hoping that I let Him be God. A pretty preposterous concept, don’t you think?