Always Watching
When my second child was a toddler, I sang to him one day and teased him by changing the words to the song. We planned to spend Christmas away with family, so I sang, “Santa Claus is coming … to Arizona!” He did not appreciate my humor in the least and adamantly told me I was wrong. “That’s not what the Bible says!” he protested. I asked him what Bible he was talking about, as I knew Santa did not have a mention. “The church’s Bible!” he replied. He was correct that my lyric was not in the Bible, I relented and sang the song correctly, and that became a treasured memory of mine.
The Bible is rich with truths about God, and rich with His truth spoken for us. And as I read the Bible, God is faithful to speak through His word. God’s word written in the scriptures speaks, even today, and I am always endeavoring to position my heart and mind to listen. As I read through the book of Ezra recently, I was struck by the very first verse:
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing…
Ezra 1:1 (NIV)
When I read that God caused Cyrus to make a decree so that the word of the Lord spoken by the prophet Jeremiah would be fulfilled, I was reminded of God’s calling of Jeremiah.
The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
Jeremiah 1:12 (NIV)
God called Jeremiah as a prophet, put His words in Jeremiah’s mouth, and prompted him to speak to the king and people of Judah. Then God kept watch. For decades, He kept watch. Not only did God watch - He worked. God worked in the heart of a pagan king, over one thousand miles from Jerusalem, to write a decree proclaiming that the Jews that had been taken captive to Babylon could now return to their homeland and rebuild the temple.
When the proclamation went out from King Cyrus, Ezra recognized what had happened. Ezra was a priest from the line of Aaron, a teacher, and scribe (Ez. 7:1-6). He had read the scrolls of the prophet Jeremiah, and recognized God’s supernatural intervention in these events. Jeremiah had prophesied that Judah would remain captive in Babylon for 70 years, then he would bring their release (Jer. 25:11-12). God had a plan, and He caused it all to happen in His time.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:10-11 (NIV)
Indeed, when God speaks a word, we can count on Him to fulfill it. God’s word to Abraham was fulfilled in the birth of Isaac twenty-five years later (Gen. 12:2, 21:5). God’s word was fulfilled in the exodus of the nation of Israel out of Egypt, where God said they would be for four hundred years (Gen. 15:13). And ultimately, God’s word was fulfilled in His Son, Jesus, who fulfilled Old Testament prophecy about his birth, his life, his death and resurrection, and the reconciliation He brought to mankind. Our God, who is always the same and does not change, is a watching and working God (1 Sam. 15:29, James 1:17)!
You and I can rely on God to fulfill every word He has spoken and every plan He has made. No matter how many days – or decades – have passed, God is keeping watch! He is unable to let us fall through the cracks, He will not lose track of us, and we are never out of His grasp our out of His sight. God is still speaking to us and, rest assured, He is watching and will fulfill every promise in His word!
“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”
Numbers 23:19 (NIV)
What has God spoken to you in the past? What is He stirring in your heart now? I invite you to allow the Holy Spirit to again ignite faith in you that what God has spoken, He will do!