“…the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying,

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia:

All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a ^[i]house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!”

2 Chronicles 36:22-23

Sometimes our lives are so centred on what we ourselves are going through – how we are doing, how we are treated, what our situation looks like, that we forget that God doesn’t look at people the same way we do. He holds all men’s hearts in His hands and can use anyone to bring to pass His purpose.

Someone you see as a thorn in your flesh today can be your helper tomorrow – that is why tomorrow is a mystery.

When the people of Israel turned their backs on God, God allowed the temple planned by David and built by Solomon to be destroyed and His people taken captive and generations later, it was the Cyrus, the King of Persia, that God used to command that the temple be rebuilt, and His people set free.

Do you see God’s hand in the story of your life? When things go well, we should not be too quick to ascribe glory to ourselves and when things go bad, try and blame others.

As children of God, we are where, who and what we are by His grace and if we fail to do His will, stones will cry out to proclaim His praise (Luke 19:40-44). There is nothing God created that He cannot command, control and instruct.

Let us come to God in humility and allow ourselves to be part of God’s plan not just for ourselves but for mankind. When we are serving a purpose larger than ourselves, our commitment, love and faithfulness will expand – because we should always remember that God can use ANYONE.