The Voice of the Future

It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’  And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She will be built’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’  Isaiah 44:28

As we continue to watch current events, it’s instinctive to ask God where He is in all of it.  Oh, how Isaiah’s voice reassures us in our fears.  Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he predicted the coming of Cyrus to deliver God’s people from exile.  At the time of this writing, Cyrus was not even born yet.  It would be another 200 years before he arrived on the scene to do precisely what God said He would. 

God had predicted Israel’s defeat and capture before they were carried off into captivity.  God had predicted, with great detail, what exile would be like and how they were to survive it.  Now through Isaiah, God predicted their deliverance through a foreign ruler the likes of Cyrus.  He had always been their God and He is still waiting to fulfill more prophecies concerning future events. 

No one changes the courses of God’s Word.  This inspires holy fear, respect, and worship for who He is.  His prediction of Cyrus comforts us since life has taken a turn and our immediate future is uncertain.  Just as surely as I’m writing this, He knows the nature of our exiles and deliverances.  The names of those who will shape our future are already pre-chosen. All is on schedule to lead us to glory. 

Just as God has foreknowledge of the main characters which comprise the leadership of world governments, He also has foreknowledge of every single detail which comprise our lives.  He spoke our name long before we existed, called us by name at our moment of re-birth, and will speak our name again when He welcomes us home.  Our past, present, and future was written with red ink and not one step (though uncertain as it may seem for us) causes Him to worry about us. 

He is the God who dismantles and the God who re-builds.  He is the God who wounds and the God who comforts.  He is the God of the faithful and the God of the exiles.  In these days when anger and fear make up our global emotional climate, we trust a Father who whispers, “Don’t be afraid.”  Our life does not begin and end with deliberate, even erratic actions, of powerful people.  God’s scepter of justice holds them in check. 

Your people are written, prophetically, into these days.  Let us rise up to carry out the work of an ambassador with confidence and joy.  Amen