Sabbath Surrender

I want to thank each of you who have prayed for Paul and Sara this week. After our Bible study last Friday evening, I knew that they were under deep conviction to begin keeping the Sabbath. I asked them to wrestle with God about this and to tell me the following week what God said to their heart and the decision they had made.

I just returned from their home and I am rejoicing in what God has done!!! Last Sabbath they went shopping and Sara told me that it was miserable—the crowds, the stress, and the conviction that what they were doing was wrong. “We decided we are never doing that again!” she told me. Paul said they have decided to reserve Saturday for family and God and Sara added that they want to also begin visiting the Adventist churches in the area to find one that feels comfortable to them. “We are still not sure what to do about going to church on Sunday,” she told me, “or our church, or where we should give our tithes, but right now we need to begin keeping the Sabbath. I’ll have to leave the other worries to God.” I reminded her of Proverbs 4:18 that says that the path of the just is as the shining light, that shines more and more unto the perfect day. When we follow the Lord, we don’t always know where we are going or what the future holds, but we can trust that He will guide us each step if we will continue to walk in the light He reveals.

Tonight’s study was a perfect follow-up to last week’s. We studied Daniel 10 and his 3 weeks of fasting and prayer. The 70 years of captivity in Babylon are up and yet there appears to be no sign of deliverance—God is not even answering his prayers—definitely not as swiftly as he had in Daniel 9. The Passover has just passed—the ultimate reminder of deliverance—and I imagine that Daniel was a little discouraged. But then Jesus and Gabriel appear to him. Gabriel tells him that that first day he prayed 3 weeks earlier God had heard his prayer but that the answer couldn’t come yet. Why?

“The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come here.” Daniel 10:13, 14

The answer was delayed because a spiritual battle was raging between Gabriel and Satan over the heart of Cyrus. It took Michael’s help for the victory to be won. Why battle over Cyrus? The answer was written 150 years before his birth:

“When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’ he will certainly do as I say. He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’; he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’” This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one, whose right hand he will empower. Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear. Their fortress gates will be opened, never to shut again. This is what the Lord says: “I will go before you, Cyrus, and level the mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name. And why have I called you for this work? Why did I call you by name when you did not know me? It is for the sake of Jacob my servant, Israel my chosen one. I am the Lord; there is no other God. I have equipped you for battle, though you don’t even know me, so all the world from east to west will know there is no other God. I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 44:28, 45:1-6 (NLT).

Yes, God had a plan for Cyrus – a plan to fulfill Bible prophecy in the destruction of Babylon and the release of the Jews after 70 years of captivity. Bu even more He wanted to have a personal relationship with Cyrus. And now that the time for prophecy to be fulfilled had come, the battle began. Here is how I imagine it.

Satan speaking to Cyrus:

“Who ever heard of a king freeing thousands of his captive subjects and allowing them to go home and re-establish themselves as a nation? If you do that it will be the ultimate sign of weakness before every ruler in the world. And who is this God of Israel anyway? Yea, so he has your name in some book, but how do you know he even exists. He obviously wasn’t strong enough to keep his people from being taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar.”

Michael (Jesus) speaking to Cyrus:

“Cyrus, I have a plan for your life. I’ve been watching over you since birth. Everything you have accomplished has been because I’ve been blessing you even though you never knew about me. But now that you do, I have a mission for you to fulill. Most of all I want to have a personal relationship with you. Are you willing?”

The battle raged for 3 weeks because ultimately it was Cyrus’ decision. Neither Satan nor Michael could force him to choose. Praise God that Scripture reveals that Cyrus surrendered to God’s will.

“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: ‘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 his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem.” Ezra 1:1-3.

What a beautiful story! And so I leave you with the question I asked Paul and Sara tonight.

Friend, is their a spiritual battle going on in your heart? Can you feel it inside—that lack of peace or inner turmoil? Satan and Michael are wrestling over you. Satan uses deception, peer-pressure, and fear as his weapons. Michael only uses the conviction of His words of love in the Bible. God has a purpose for your life and is calling you to surrender to Him and experience it. Won’t you say “YES!”?