I want to encourage you by bringing to mind what God has done in the past. The following is an excerpt from a devotional I wrote for our church's missions conference last March. I am always encouraged when I read Isaiah 45 because it makes perfectly clear, from a prophetic and historic point of view, that GOD is the one who controls all of history. Isaiah 45:1,3: "Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed. . . that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name."
I was born in 600 B.C. When I became King of Persia, I subdued nations, diverted waters, and claimed treasures and hoards in secret places. When I conquered Babylon, I became aware of a group called the Jews who had been taken into exile by the Babylonians. They worshiped one God, and as I had no attachment to any local god, I allowed them to return to their home and generously gave them money to rebuild and restored their temple treasures. Mine was the first World Empire. I was Cyrus the Great, "king of the world, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters of the world."* I have since learned the now-bitter truth: that Men, not excepting kings, do not do their own will. The One True God, the God of all mankind, He, for the sake of His servant, Jacob, called me by name, though I did not know Him. Ignorant as I was, I still did His Will: I spread His glory. Down through the ages before and after me, others, in their ignorance and rebellion, spread Jehovah's glory. The King of Egypt who enslaved the Jews finally learned that the God of Moses "is God." The Romans built roads that crossed the known world, and by those roads, the Message traveled. For over 200 years, Roman emperors tried to silence Christianity but only succeeded in spreading the Gospel further. The Gospel continues to spread even under the Iron Hand of Communism. No world leader can politically dance around God. We are His tools; we have been and will be His hands, spreading His Glory, fulfilling His Sovereign Will, often without acknowledging what I know now: that "He is the the LORD, and there is no other."
If Cyrus the Great could not escape being God's hand, why do we think our Supreme Court or our President can? Do not lose heart. Though we wish we did not live to see such times, we can be assured that the Lord is moving, working, and His Plan will be accomplished. Now, do not forget that what His Plan is may not be what we think it should be. His ways are not our ways. But He will not forsake or forget us. He does not slumber or sleep. He hardens and softens hearts. Nothing catches Him by surprise. Remember Gideon and his 300 men. Remember David and Goliath. Remember Shamgar and the 600 Philistines he killed. Remember Deborah and Barak and how, though outnumbered and battling against weapons far beyond theirs, God through them won the victory. Remember Daniel, when God shut the lions' mouths. Remember Jonah's storm, great fish, vine, east wind, and worm which were all appointed by God for a purpose. Remember the Magi whose belief led them to help keep the baby Jesus from Herod's murderous plot. Remember those who "were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection."
I'm not going to say it's going to be easy, but looking at God's work in the past can help us to remember that we are all part of His great tapestry, His story of redemption, His great plan for His own, beyond-deserved glory.
*From the cylinder of Cyrus the Great
