In the first 8 verses that begin the book of Ezra, we see God very much at work. Twice, it mentions the Lord 'stirring up the spirits' of His people. First, in verse 1:
"...that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom..."
One definition of the term "stir up" means to "ignite, wake, inflame". That seems to be what the Lord did here to the King of Persia.
What was the proclamation that God stirred in the King's spirit, you ask? Verses 2-3 answer:
“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven...has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem."
In verse 5, we see the response of the people. Amazingly, God not only stirred the heart of Cyrus to create this proclamation, but he stirred the hearts of the people to respond to it!
"Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord that is in Jerusalem."
Another definition of the term, "stir up" means "to set off great unrest among the people".
Can you think of a time in your life when God stirred your spirit? What was it for? We are often left to freely choose what we'll do and where we'll do it. But sometimes, for the sake of something greater than ourselves, the Lord draws near and stirs our spirit. It could be to reach out to someone, or to get involved in a worthy cause. It could be to make a big life change, or take a leap of faith into unknown waters. No matter what God stirs, we have a choice whether we will respond to Him, or not. But any of us who have felt the Lord stir our spirit, and then tried to ignore it, can attest to "the great unrest" that follows. When the Lord stirs, He has purpose. Always, to bring glory to Himself. Always, to draw us closer to Him. And always, to further His Kingdom!
Please leave a comment below about something God stirred (or is stirring) in your spirit! Did you respond?
No comments:
Post a Comment