God Works Through Unexpected People and Ways

Devotional

Day 1: Called by Name Before Time Begins

God speaks to Cyrus by name two centuries before his birth, revealing His sovereignty over time and nations. This Persian king—a pagan outsider—is called “anointed” to liberate God’s people from captivity. The divine naming of Cyrus dismantles our limited expectations, showing God’s intimate authority to appoint unlikely instruments for sacred purposes. His foreknowledge stretches beyond human timelines, working salvation through unexpected hands long before we recognize the need. [35:11]

“I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me.”
(Isaiah 45:4-5, ESV)

Reflection: When has God surprised you by working through someone “unqualified” or unforeseen? How might His naming of Cyrus deepen your trust in His timing for your struggles?

Day 2: Unexpected Hands in God’s Harvest

A college groundskeeper named Jim—not a preacher or theologian—modeled quiet faithfulness that pointed others to Christ. God often uses unassuming people in mundane places to reveal His presence. Like Cyrus, these unlikely saints dismantle our obsession with platforms and prestige, proving holiness thrives in hidden soil. Their ordinary obedience becomes divine testimony. [39:23]

“God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are.”
(1 Corinthians 1:27-28, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life has reflected Jesus through simple, steady faithfulness rather than grand gestures? How could you honor their impact today?

Day 3: Calamity Carved for Liberation

God declares He creates both well-being and calamity, unsettling our tidy theology. Yet His “calamity” in Isaiah 45 shatters Babylonian gates, freeing captives—a surgical strike against what enslaves His people. This divine demolition is not random cruelty but targeted grace, dismantling barriers to restoration. Christ’s cross follows this pattern: devastation becomes deliverance. [44:53]

“I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.”
(Isaiah 45:2-3, ESV)

Reflection: When has God allowed a “gate” in your life to break so you could walk freer? How might current hardships be dismantling something that hinders your trust in Him?

Day 4: Whispers in the Unseen Tapestry

Two hundred years of silence stretch between God’s promise to Cyrus and its fulfillment. Like stitches hidden beneath embroidery, God works salvation in seasons when His hand seems absent. The “hidden God” of Isaiah 45 weaves through exile and foreign kings, proving His presence persists even when undetected. Our faith rests not in visibility but in His vow. [36:50]

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
(Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you struggle to trust God’s activity in life’s “silent years”? How might His work through Cyrus encourage you in waiting?

Day 5: Brokenness Bending Toward Glory

A child’s insight cuts through complexity: “If everyone was perfect, you wouldn’t need Jesus.” God permits brokenness not as cruelty but as canvas, using every crack to highlight Christ’s redemption. Like Cyrus’ pagan reign or Jim’s lawnmower ministry, God bends all things—even pain—toward salvation’s story. Our scars become signposts to the Savior. [48:53]

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: What current hardship might God be using to deepen your—or others’—need for Jesus? How could you lean into His promise to bend this pain toward redemption?

Sermon Summary

Isaiah 45 brings up a name that does not get called very often: Cyrus. Cyrus was not a king in Judah, a prophet, a priest, or one of God’s people. Cyrus was the king of Persia, a foreign ruler surrounded by pagan gods, yet God called him by name and called him his anointed one.

God named Cyrus more than two hundred years before Cyrus ever showed up. God knew captivity in Babylon was coming before his people ever got there, and God already had a liberator picked out. God really is in charge. God knows what is happening, whether it is far away in time or far away from where people are sitting right now. God does not just know, either. God cares, God is involved, and God is always doing his work for salvation.

The hidden God keeps working even when everything looks like it has gone to hell in a handbasket. Isaiah’s words remind God’s people that his thoughts are not their thoughts and his ways are not their ways. God’s ways are higher, and God’s concern is always the salvation of his people.

Cyrus also shows that God works salvation in unexpected ways. God used an unexpected messiah, a little Jesus, to point ahead to the unexpected Savior of the world. God still uses unexpected people who quietly, consistently, and faithfully point others to Jesus. God calls ordinary people by name and equips them for that same work.

Isaiah 45 also gives an uncomfortable word: “I make well-being and create calamity.” Calamity can sound like proof that God caused every evil, every sickness, every broken family, every disaster, and every awful thing in the world. God’s Word does not leave people to wrestle with that question on their own terms.

God’s calamity in Isaiah falls against Babylon, the enemy holding his people captive. God levels high places, breaks bronze doors, and cuts through iron bars so his people can walk free. Jesus fulfills that destruction in a bigger way. Jesus brings calamity against sin, death, and the devil. Jesus tears down the gates that keep sinners out of heaven and breaks the chains that hold them in bondage.

The cross and resurrection declare that God’s destruction is aimed at the evil that keeps people from him. God does not create sin, but God uses even this broken world to point people to Jesus. God is bending all things toward salvation, and everybody needs Jesus. God has called his people by name, chosen them, and equipped them to point others to the Savior who does all things.

Key Takeaways

1. God calls unlikely people by name Cyrus was not the obvious choice, and that is exactly part of the point. God’s work does not depend on human credentials, background, or spiritual appearance. God’s calling reaches into places that look foreign, unlikely, and even uncomfortable to show that salvation belongs to him. [35:11]
2. God works when people cannot see The hidden God is not absent when life feels confusing or out of control. God’s people may not understand the timing, the road, or the people God chooses to use, but God is still present and still working for salvation. Trust rests not in being able to explain everything, but in knowing who holds everything. [36:50]
3. Christ destroys what enslaves sinners God’s calamity is not a blank check to blame him for the evil in the world. Christ brings destruction against sin, death, and the devil, the enemies that imprison human lives. The cross is God’s decisive breaking of iron bars so captives can enter freely into his promise. [45:48]
4. Brokenness still points toward Jesus God does not create the sin that fills the world, but no evil can finally escape his redeeming purpose. Human brokenness exposes the need for a Savior rather than proving that salvation is unnecessary. Jesus remains the one answer for a world that cannot heal itself. [48:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[31:25] - Favorite Bible Characters
[32:48] - Who Is Cyrus?
[34:19] - An Unexpected Messiah
[35:51] - God Knows and Is Working
[37:38] - God Uses Unexpected People
[39:23] - A Quiet Life Pointing to Jesus
[41:06] - “I Create Calamity”
[42:35] - Can God Be Blamed for Evil?
[44:13] - Calamity Against Babylon
[45:48] - Jesus Destroys Sin and Death
[47:28] - God Bends All Things Toward Salvation
[49:13] - Called by Name to Point to Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Isaiah 45:1-7
“Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.” [32:48]

Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [37:10]

Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” [46:58]

Observation questions

In Isaiah 45:1–7, what titles and actions does God use for Cyrus, and what does Cyrus’s background as a Persian king make surprising about them? [34:19]
What obstacles does God say he will remove or destroy before Cyrus, and for whose sake does God say he is acting?
According to Isaiah 45:1–7, what repeated statements make clear that the Lord alone is God?
What future hope does Revelation 21:4 describe for God’s people, especially in contrast to the pain, death, and mourning of life now? [46:58]

Interpretation questions

Why would God name and appoint Cyrus long before Israel’s captivity and Cyrus’s rise to power? What does that reveal about God’s knowledge, power, and care for his people? [35:51]
Isaiah 55:8–9 says that God’s ways are higher than human ways. How does that truth help someone distinguish between trusting God and pretending to have an easy explanation for every painful event? [37:10]
In Isaiah 45, God’s destruction is directed at Babylon and the barriers keeping his people captive. How does this help explain the statement that God “creates calamity” without making God the author of human sin and evil? [45:13]
How do Cyrus’s work of freeing captives and Jesus’ victory over sin, death, and the devil fit together? In what ways is Jesus the greater Savior? [45:48]

Application questions

Where in life does God seem hidden or difficult to understand right now—perhaps in a delay, loss, conflict, or uncertainty? What would it look like to trust that God is still present and working for salvation even when the outcome is not visible? [36:50]
Who is an unexpected person God has used to point you toward Jesus? What did that person’s words, faithfulness, or quiet way of living show you about Christ? [38:26]
God often uses ordinary people who live quietly, consistently, and faithfully. In your regular places—home, work, school, neighborhood, or church—what simple habits could help your life point someone toward Jesus? [40:17]
When evil, sickness, disaster, or broken relationships raise hard questions about God, where are you most tempted to accuse God or pull away from him? How can the cross help you bring those questions honestly to God while holding onto Christ’s victory over evil? [42:35]
What “iron bars” of sin, fear, shame, grief, or hopelessness can make a person feel trapped? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection speak freedom into those places? [46:03]
Revelation promises a day when God will end tears, death, pain, and mourning. How could that promise shape the way you care for someone who is suffering this week? [46:58]
God has called his people by name and equipped them to point others to the Savior. Who is one specific person you could encourage, serve, or speak with this week in a way that gently points to Jesus? [49:17]

Sermon Clips

55s

#EveryoneNeedsJesus

“God doesn't create the sin in this world, but he does use it to point us to Jesus. God uses all things to point us to a savior even when we don't expect it, especially when we don't see it. Our God is one who is bending all things towards salvation. And the kid's right. Everybody needs Jesus. We all need Jesus. And God has called you by name. He has chosen you. He has equipped you to point people to the savior of the world who does all things.”

59s

#GodIsInControl

“It's important to recognize that God calls king Cyrus by name two hundred years before Cyrus shows up, even before God's people are even put in captivity in Babylon. God really does what's know what's going on, whether it's distant in time or distant in place from where we are. God knows what's happening. And he doesn't just know, but he cares, and he is involved. God is working in and amidst all things, even when it looks like everything's gone to hell in a handbasket. God is still present. He is there. He is here. And he is always doing his work for salvation. Even when we don't see it, and especially when we don't understand it.”

41s

#SalvationThroughChrist

“God does create calamity. He does create destruction. And we see that in this verse, the calamity and destruction that he appoints Cyrus to create is against the enemy of God's people, Babylon. He wiped out Babylon, tore down their gates, destroyed their high places so that God's people may walk freely into the land of the promise. And God still creates calamity. He still creates destruction through his chosen messiah, our savior, Jesus Christ.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Resurrection Lutheran Church-Cary NC This sermon · AI assistant

What makes Cyrus an unexpected messiah?

How does God use calamity for salvation?

How can unexpected people point others to Jesus?