22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, 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 and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him. Let him go up.’” (II Chronicles 36)
As God's story continues to unfold a key thread throughout is "opportunity." the LORD had brought a great nation from an aged, childless couple, had brought that people out of the land of slavery into the promised land, then brought them together under and unlikely king, then allowed them to experience the Exile after their persistent refusal to trust Him and thank Him for all these opportunities He had given them to be a blessing to the nations. Now He was offering them a new opportunity through the decree of Cyrus: go back to the land; rebuild the temple; see what God will do. Often in our lives we can feel like we have missed our opportunity, blown it, and messed up so badly life is barely worth continuing. The same can be true of a group of God's people gathered together. But God is the God of opportunity, over and over again. Open your eyes. Open your heart. See what opportunities He is placing before you today.
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