Today’s Reading: Isaiah 45-49

“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me…” – Isaiah 45:4

150 years before it took place, Isaiah prophesied that God would use a foreign leader named Cyrus to accomplish His plan of setting Israel free from Babylon. Before Cyrus even knew who the God of Israel was, God was involving Cyrus in his plan of redemption.

BEFORE YOU KNEW ME

“I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose, and I will guide his actions. He will restore my city and free my captive people — without seeking a reward! I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” – Isaiah 45:13

God had a plan for Cyrus before he was even born. He prepared the way for this man before he had even submitted to God’s sovereignty in his life. In the same way, God had a plan for each of us before we were born. And now He is going before us and equipping us for the battle to which He has called us. He does this for two purposes — SALVATION & RIGHTEOUSNESS.

It is God’s plan that each of us would come to a saving knowledge of who He is and how He has planned for us before we were even a thought in the mind of our parents. It is God’s plan for righteousness to “sprout up together” with salvation to accomplish His purposes through our lives (Is. 45:2-8).

BEFORE YOU WERE BORN

“I have cared for you since before you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime – until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.” – Isaiah 46:3b-4

O Lord, you alone are my hope.
I’ve trusted you, O Lord, from childhood.
Yes, you have been with me from birth;
from my mother’s womb you have cared for me.
No wonder I am always praising you! – Psalm 71:5-6

How beautiful! God cares for us and carries us from the time before we were born, throughout our lifetime, until the end of our life. He carries us along with the plan to save us and to accomplish His purposes through us — so that salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.

BEFORE YOU QUESTION YOUR PURPOSE

The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name.
He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.
He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”
I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”
And now the Lord speaks – the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength.
He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” – Isaiah 49:1b-6

God saves us for the sake of righteousness, and then He uses His righteousness displayed in our lives to save others for the sake of righteousness, so that still others can be restored to a place of salvation for the sake of righteousness. So, as we struggle to find purpose in our current situation, we can believe with confidence that God uses EVERYTHING for His purposes – for the purpose of salvation and righteousness.

Oh Lord, help me to see you at work in the lives of those around me — those who have come to a saving knowledge of you and those who still do not know you. We pray that today many will choose to believe in you, and that many will declare for the first time that you are Lord. We pray that those who are resisting you will be drawn back into a relationship with Christ. We pray that thousands will take the opportunity to live out the righteousness of God in the lives of others. Amen.