Isaiah 45:1-7 Easy-to-Read Version
God Chooses Cyrus to Make Israel Free
45 This is what the Lord said to Cyrus, his chosen king[a]:
“I took you by your right hand to help you defeat nations,
to strip other kings of their power,
and to open city gates that will not be closed again.
2 I will go in front of you
and make the mountains flat.
I will break the city gates of bronze
and cut the iron bars on the gates.
3 I will give you the wealth that is stored in secret places.
I will give you those hidden treasures.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.
4 I do this for my servant, Jacob.
I do it for my chosen people, Israel.
Cyrus, I am calling you by name.
You don’t know me, but I know you.[b]
5 I am the Lord, the only God.
There is no other God except me.
I put your clothes on you,[c]
but still you don’t know me.
6 I am doing this so that everyone will know
that I am the only God.
From the east to the west, people will know that I am the Lord
and that there is no other God.
7 I made the light and the darkness.
I bring peace, and I cause trouble.
I, the Lord, do all these things.
Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
In Isaiah 45, God promised the Israelites release from bondage to Babylon and deliverance for his wayward people through a Persian king named Cyrus.
He says to Cyrus, “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches hidden in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3 NIV).
During his conquest, Cyrus literally found treasures that the Jews had buried as they were taken into captivity.
Like King Cyrus, who found treasures hidden in the darkness, you, too, can find treasures—hope in the unexpected places of darkness, those painful places of suffering where you would very much like not to be.
God gives you these treasures for two reasons.
First, he does it so you would know that he has the power to intervene in your darkness.
In this verse, God reveals himself as the Lord, the God of Israel.
Over and over in Scripture, he says that he is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Master, the Ruler, and the Deliverer.
He is transcendent, which means he’s above time, space, and matter, and his existence is not dependent on anything outside of himself.
His ways are higher than your ways and his thoughts higher than your thoughts. “Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit” (Psalm 147:5 NIV).
God is huge and powerful, and he can intervene in your darkness in ways only a transcendent God can do.
You can probably tell amazing stories of the ways God has intervened in your finances, your health, your family, or your career, just when you thought there was no hope of restoration or salvation. He revealed himself as he moved into your darkness and changed everything.
We ask for miracles every single day because we know he is God and we are not.
Sometimes God intervenes in ways that we have begged for.
Other times, he does not.
He may not have intervened in the darkness that has surrounded you or your family in the ways that you desired.
So, what then?
This verse reveals that God will be close to you in your darkness.
He is the Almighty God.
He’s huge, but he is also imminent, which means he is intimate.
He is personal.
He is your helper, your healer, your Savior, your friend, the lover of your wounded soul. This personal and intimate God will be close to you in your darkness because he promised he would be. He’s as close as your next breath.
Something other than Darkness to Ponder
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Psalm 112 English Standard Version
The Righteous Will Never Be Moved
112 [a] Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady;[b] he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
Darkness is generally something we avoid.
It feels unknown, chaotic, and sometimes even hopeless.
The dark seasons that we endure in our lives are usually the ones we want to forget. We don’t want to revisit those struggles, often, we wonder how anything good could come from our pain.
Yet God is able to transform our dark moments into something beautiful.
This is how we know his light is greater than the darkness that plagues our world! His word says, “I will give you treasures from those dark moments.”
He unpacks rich blessings from those difficult, secret moments.
As he meets us in the dark, it’s then that we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He is the Lord!
There is so much beauty in God’s power to make treasures out of our ashes.
There is so much grace when we realize our failures, in Christ, are the places where we have met God, and he carried us forward.
The lessons that come when we walk through the valley of the shadow become the ones that most profoundly define our character and shape our testimonies.
If you feel stuck in the dark, remember there are treasures to be gained even in this struggle to find even the smallest pinpoint of light. God is greater than the darkness that covers us. He uses our pain for his glory and our good. (John 1:5)
Talk It Over
- When in your life has God intervened in a seemingly hopeless situation?
- Do you regularly ask God for a miracle because of what you know about his character? Why or why not?
- How does God show you that he is near when you are walking through a dark time in your life?
Three additional things to meditate and pray upon
1. Is there a part of your story that you are ashamed of? Ask God to help you release that shame and embrace the promise that he can use our failures for glory.
2. What lessons have you learned through the challenging circumstances you have walked through?
3. Give God thanks for how he has worked out all the pieces of your story for your good.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
Psalm 139:1-18 English Standard Version
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 