Praise to GOD who STIRS SPIRITS

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah,

the LORD STIRRED UP the SPIRIT of Cyrus king of Persia,

so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem.'”

Ezra 1:1-3

538 B.C., Cyrus was King of Persia. He was not a Jew. But, God stirred his heart and worked through him to accomplish His purposes. How? God STIRRED CYRUS’ SPIRIT. God moved his heart as the wind moves flowers and thistles. That which had been set, bowed under God’s stirring.

King Cyrus gave a proclamation allowing the Jews who had been taken captive and living in Babylon to return to Jerusalem. He gave them protection, money, and the temple articles Nebuchadnezzar had taken when he took them captive.

A non-Jewish king…used by the King of kings…to accomplish holy purposes. Can God do that? Did God do that then? Does God do that today?

God was in control over the kings of the earth. God is still in control. As we think about our Eternal King stirring Cyrus’s heart, we might prayerfully consider… are we praying God stir the heart of our President?

About what might God want to stir our spirit?

Do we live in anticipation of God stirring our spirit?  What has God stirred our spirit to do? Are we doing it?

Heavenly Father, King of kings and GOD who STIRS SPIRITS, thank You for recording how You stirred King Cyrus’s spirit to do something You wanted accomplished. Stir our Presiden’ts spirit. Stir our spirits. May we be quick and faithful to respond. 

*http://bit.ly/2fn0WLI