Purpose Study Bible 329: God Moves, We Act
“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…” (Ezra 1:1).
Today we start our study of a new book. Ezra opens with a theological declaration about history. Empires may dominate the headlines, but God directs the storyline. Cyrus appears to be acting as a powerful ruler making a political decision. In reality, he's responding to divine initiative after the Lord moved his heart.
This verse affirms something essential for purposeful living: God isn't distant from human decisions. He works within them. He stirs and aligns timing. He fulfills promises spoken generations earlier. Cyrus didn't know he was completing Jeremiah’s prophecy, yet his decree was part of a divine plan already in motion.
However, notice what this movement didn't do. God moved Cyrus’ heart—but Cyrus still had to act. He issued a proclamation in writing. The people then had to choose whether to return and rebuild, which of course they did. Divine initiative didn't eliminate human responsibility; it activated it.
Some believers hesitate to act because they're waiting for a dramatic internal stirring. Yet Scripture has already given clear commands regarding love, forgiveness, generosity, prayer, and service. Obedience to revealed truth doesn't require a special emotional movement or an engraved invitation from heaven. When God has spoken plainly, responsibility should be immediate.
At the same time, there are moments when God uniquely stirs a heart toward a specific assignment. That stirring isn't permission or cause to remain passive; it's an invitation to actively participate. Cyrus’ movement became a summons. The same God who moved an emperor’s heart moves believers toward their assignments today.
God initiates, and He expects participation. God moves hearts, and then He expects hands and feet to move. Where have you been waiting for God’s initiative, “waiting on the Lord,” to create, go, learn, or build? Where have you assumed that your natural inclination to create, produce, or initiate is not a God-directed and inspired directive when it very well may be?
God is sovereign, and His purposes will be achieved. Yet in His wisdom, He accomplishes those purposes through people like you who respond and obey. Perhaps it's time to stop waiting for God to do what only you can do.