Providence Upon Nonbelievers

Providence Upon Nonbelievers


In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord fulfilled the prophecy he had given through Jeremiah. He stirred the heart of Cyrus to put this proclamation in writing and to send it throughout his kingdom.
Ezra 1:1 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION


In this verse, King Cyrus sounds like a follower of Yahweh, the God of the Jews. But, he isn’t. In his mind, his intention is to win the loyalty of the Jews by allowing them to return and reestablish their way of life. But in other portions of the Bible, God makes claim that He, the God of the Hebrews, uses the just and unjust for his purposes. Do you believe that?

Many years ago, I had packed a large military style duffle bag. I ate my last meal and stuffed my last $30 into my pocket.. You see, I was about to be homeless. I had no job and therefore could not pay my rent. I had nowhere to go, and figured it best to just disappear. I was going to drive my car until it ran out of gas. Wherever it stopped is where I would live. I decided to visit a few people before my disappearing act.

During my farewell rounds, I stopped in to see an old friend at his job. He asked me why I was so far away from home because he was in Lansing, Illinois. At the time I lived in East Chicago, Indiana, about fifteen to twenty miles away. I lied. I told him I was job hunting. As I exited the building, my friend yelled out, “Good luck job hunting!” Just then, another person yelled back to me.
“You need a job?” he asked.
“Yeah!” I said loudly and then only whispered, “I need a job . . .”
“Well, be here at twelve tomorrow!” and he went back to his office.
One of the guys said, “Welcome to the family.”
I asked if that guy was serious and they suggested I show at noon, or he would come looking for me.

Was Tom, (the owner of the company and person who offered me the job), a believer? No. Did he think that he had given me a job? Yes, but I also believe God used Tom to change me from destitute to solvent. And I didn’t even understand that until years later. I think God was after me. I think he used the hearts of the unsaved to get to the unsaved. I think God wanted to quiet my earthly need so that my spirit could be prepared for His arrival. I used to wonder if God worked in the hearts of unbelievers. That is sort of a silly thought because if he did not get inside the hearts and minds of the unsaved, none of us would be saved.