Thinking this morning about seeing where God is at work and realising that sometimes it is in the most unexpected places.
In its first chapter, the book of Ezra tells of the restoration of the Israelites from exile. It is hard to imagine how it must have felt to be allowed to return to their land after all that had happened, and hard to understand how it all came about. We are not told of any lengthy negotiation, or clever political manoeuvres all we are told is that "The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia. "
With so much going on in our world at the moment, I find this comforting, that for all our striving and politicking, it is God who will make it happen. And even more excitingly, he did not use the means we might expect, Cyrus, the King of Persia, was not an Israelite or even someone who followed God - yet it was he whose heart was moved to open the door and begin the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
So I am left with questions, where is God at work in our world today, where is God at work in our communities? Where is God working in ourselves? It may not be where we think it is, but if we are awake to it, we will see what wonders it can bring.
"In the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia, to make a proclamation throughout his realm."
Ezra 1 vs 1
In its first chapter, the book of Ezra tells of the restoration of the Israelites from exile. It is hard to imagine how it must have felt to be allowed to return to their land after all that had happened, and hard to understand how it all came about. We are not told of any lengthy negotiation, or clever political manoeuvres all we are told is that "The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia. "
With so much going on in our world at the moment, I find this comforting, that for all our striving and politicking, it is God who will make it happen. And even more excitingly, he did not use the means we might expect, Cyrus, the King of Persia, was not an Israelite or even someone who followed God - yet it was he whose heart was moved to open the door and begin the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
So I am left with questions, where is God at work in our world today, where is God at work in our communities? Where is God working in ourselves? It may not be where we think it is, but if we are awake to it, we will see what wonders it can bring.
"In the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia, to make a proclamation throughout his realm."
Ezra 1 vs 1
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