Isaiah 45:1, 4 (NIV) “This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut… For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name  and bestow on you a title of honor, though you do not acknowledge me.”

In the scripture above, God speaks through His prophet, Isaiah, about a king that He would appoint to subdue the nations before Him. If you read the entire chapter, you will learn that the Lord was going to do this on behalf of His chosen people and nation, Israel. The amazing thing about this prophesy is that it was given 100-150 years before Cyrus was born. God, in His sovereignty and providence, was foretelling what He was going to do to rescue His people from exile through a foreign king that he was going to bring to power.

There are many amazing things about this prophesy and one of the things that particularly sticks out is the fact that God was going to anoint, appoint and use a pagan king that the Lord Himself said would not acknowledge Him. He was going to use Cyrus for His glory and for His purpose, which ultimately was to have a person of power make a way for His people to make it back to the promised land from their exile. He was declaring this beforehand so that people would know that there is no one like Him and no God but Him.

So what does this prophesy have to do with us today? For starters, this and many other prophesies, miracles and happenings that are all due to God’s will and power prove that the world is in His hands. Nothing that goes on in the affairs of the world are outside of God’s will and plan. Everyone and everything must answer to Him. In this particular prophesy, God proves that He really does have everything under His control and that nothing can happen that He doesn’t allow or that He hasn’t planned. The Word of God is clear that people may have their plans, but it is God’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:21). That means that all of that worrying we do about our lives is very foolish and wasteful. So many of God’s people are sick in their bodies and disquieted in their minds because they do not live in the reality that God has everything under control in their lives. Imagine our God, this God who can call out a man by name 150 years before he is even born and foretell what this man will do according to His will and purpose, being in control of your life. Perhaps there lies the first problem we have, which is realizing that if we belong to Jesus, our lives are in God’s hands. If we did acknowledge that and lived our lives as if we absolutely believed that this is true, how much worry and anxiety would we be able to avoid? How much healthier would we be and how much more effective would we be as God’s ambassadors and witnesses?

Let’s stop wasting our time being anxious about things that God has already figured out in our lives. Our God, who knew us even before we were in our mother’s womb, not only has the world in His hands, but he also has your world in His hands. When you come up against a challenge or dilemma, know that He already knew what He was going to do to help you. Everything is in His hands. Leave your everything there.

Pastor Joey Vazquez