Isaiah 45:1-2 NLT
This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again.
While Daniel is speaking to the king, Cyrus, God’s deliverer, is besieging the city.
Babylon was impenetrable. The wall around the city was 56 miles long, 80 feet thick, and 300 feet tall. The Euphrates river ran under the wall and through the city, so Cyrus stationed men where the river entered the city and where it ran out. He took the rest of his army upriver and built a canal to divert the water. As the water level dropped, entrance to the city from under the wall on the river banks became possible. As a result, Cyrus’s army rushed into the city and overthrew Babylon in one night.
Isaiah prophesied this pagan leader (by name!) 200 years before this event and 150 years before Cyrus was born. Cyrus would read the Jewish prophets’ writings and realize that God was in charge. And who revealed this to Cyrus? My money is on Daniel.
*Remember Kairos: the time and place set by God for His word to exact a new reality on your behalf.
What are we to take from this today? Isaiah continues, “Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish.” (Isaiah 46:9-10 NLT).
Remember what God has done. Before your habit, your thinking, or your pain imprisoned you, God already set your deliverance plan in motion. He anointed specific people with gifts and callings to help you break free. And before you were even born, He called and anointed you. God is in charge! Be encouraged!
Prayer
Praise You, Heavenly Father! You are sovereign. You know all that’s happening and have foreordained my deliverance. You have anointed the ministers of freedom for my life. Set me free now, I pray. Create the new reality of Your word for my life, in Jesus’ name!