READING: Ezra 1-4
God stirs the hearts of people. That is, the God who created all things works in the hearts of people He created. In today’s reading, He stirred not only the hearts of people returning to Jerusalem to re-build the temple, but also—and perhaps more surprisingly—the heart of the pagan king Cyrus of Persia to encourage His people to return. Secular historians would have understood the causes of these events differently (indeed, Cyrus granted the same offer to people who followed other gods, too), but the writer of Ezra saw the hand of the true God in them. God was moving history over which He had control.
We don’t know exactly how God roused the hearts of those in today’s reading, but we know He did—and that same God still stirs hearts today. I am reminded, in fact, of the time almost fifty years ago now when God turned my own heart in His direction. He pursued me when I was trying to outrun Him; He brought me to faith and repentance when I was still just learning the terms. Stirring my heart . . . .
It’s with this hope of God’s still rousing hearts that I continue to pray for nonbelieving friends and loved ones today. While I can never convince them on my own to follow God, He can move on their heart. I pray He does so even today.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: How has God roused your heart over the years?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, please move the hearts of others as You have moved mine.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezra 5-8
