Fin Sheridan

“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 armour, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

For the sake of Jacob my servant, of Israel my chosen, I summon you by name and bestow on you a title of honour, though you do not acknowledge me. I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me.

I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things. ‘You heavens above, rain down my righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up,let righteousness flourish with it; I, the Lord, have created it.” Isaiah 45:1-8

In these verses, God keeps promising to do things for his people (in this case, the people of Israel and, because of Jesus, that now includes us!) The language is poetic; breaking doors, talking about nations and kings and armour but that doesn’t make it any less relevant. We all have situations where we feel like we need something, or someone, stronger, to help us. But notice what God keeps saying. He keeps pulling it back to himself and who he is; verse 3 says that “…so you may know that I am the Lord.”

Why is that significant? It’s because, whilst God loves to provide for us, to help us and to show us his hand, what he really wants to do is reveal more of who he is and to draw us to His heart.

So, ask today! Ask for what you need, ask him to break down doors, to provide for you, to bless you, ask because He wants to show you his hand! But don’t be surprised when He uses that situation to show you his heart; to show more of his love, more of his character, more of who he is because that’s the true reward. That’s the real prize.

 in Blogs, Purpose
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