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.
– Isaiah 45:5–6
Oh, just meditate for a moment on these verses. So there are bookends. Verse five starts by saying, “I am the Lord, and there is no other”. Verse six ends by saying, “I am the Lord, and there is no other”. God is making very clear that there is only one true God. He is the Lord. There is no other God, one God who rules and reigns over all things. And then, so this word is God speaking to Cyrus, who was the ruler of Persia.
He was the king of the Persian Empire. And God says to him in Isaiah 45:5–6, “You do not know me, but everything you have comes from me”.
This verse is a clear reminder to all the world, including you and me, that everything that anyone has ultimately comes from God, regardless of whether or not we believe in God or trust in God, or worship God.
Isaiah 45:5–6 points to God’s sovereignty over everything and everyone.
The reality is, even if you were listening to this right now and you hated God, the reality is your breath comes from the very One you hate. And not only does God give us all things that we have, but God is accomplishing his purposes through us, whether or not we worship him. That’s verse six. “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”.
So God is glorifying himself and accomplishing his ultimate purposes in the world. Yes, through people who know him and through people who do not know him. Now, there’s a mystery to how all of this works because we see all throughout Scripture that men and women are responsible for their actions. Cyrus, the king of Persia, was responsible for his actions before God, and yet God was sovereign over all of them. And how that works is a mystery.
But I want to encourage you in two ways based on Isaiah 45:5–6 in ways that will lead us to pray. One, when you look at the world and everything around you in the world and everything that’s going on in every part of the world, you can trust that God is ultimately sovereign over it all. Because there are many people, many leaders in the world who do not know God, who are not worshiping God, who are not following God, and yet God is ultimately accomplishing his good purposes through all of them.
Isaiah 45:5–6 challenges us to trust God’s supreme control over the universe.
That’s the startling truth that we see over and over again in the Old Testament. How God would eventually use Cyrus, the king of Persia, to accomplish his good purposes for his people. It’s part of what’s being prophesied here in the book of Isaiah. So you can trust that this world is not spinning out of control. And your world around you is not spinning out of control.
There is one true God over it all, and he is infinitely worthy of your trust. Which then leads to the second way I want to encourage you, and that’s to align your life with the purpose of God and the plans of God. The Word of God. Do not rebel against God’s purposes and plans, and desires for your life. Obey his Word, live according to his purpose. What is his purpose? To make his goodness and glory known in all the earth, among all the nations. We know that’s the purpose of God, and it will be accomplished.
Look at the end of the Bible. Every nation, tribe, telling people gathered around the throne of God, singing his praises for his salvation, all who’ve trusted in Jesus. So if that’s where the train of history is headed and you want your life to count today, then live for that purpose today. Oh God, we praise you as the one true God. There is no other God. We praise you as the Lord over all, over everything, over everyone.
This verse calls us to align our lives with God’s plan for the world.
You alone are God, and we worship you, and we praise you. Even as I’m praying this right now, the reality that I know you, that we know you, that we’re talking with you right now, the one true God, that you’re listening to us, that we’re hearing from you in your Word, that you are the Lord. There is no other. And every good thing we have comes from you.
We praise you, oh God, for the breath we have right now. We praise you for all the good things you have entrusted to us, equipped us with, and not just us. God, we praise you for your sovereignty over all things and all the world. Yes, God, we trust in you. We are so that this world is not spinning out of control. And that no matter what we’re walking through, our world is not spinning out of control, that you are ultimately sovereign over it all, and that you’re accomplishing good purposes, your good purposes and it all.
And so we pray, God, please help us not to rebel against your purposes, your plans, your desires for our lives, your Word, God. Help us to trust you, to obey you, to surrender to you today, and to live for your ultimate purpose. To make your goodness and your glory known around us today.
This verse challenges us to embrace the Great Commission.
God, help us to be salt and light that people might see our lives, your goodness in our lives, and give glory to you in heaven. Help us to serve others, to love others, to care for others, to share the gospel with others. The good news of the one true God who will save all who trust in him. God, help us to be bold by the power of your Holy Spirit in us with that gospel today.
And God, we pray that you’d help us to live, to use the resources you’ve entrusted to us, help us in our lives and our families, our churches, to make this good news known in light of your purpose among all the nations.
Prayer for the Vyas Brahmin People
God, we pray specifically today in light of your purpose for the Vyas Brahmin people of India. For 175,000 Telugu speakers worshiping all kinds of different gods in Hinduism, hundreds of millions of gods. You alone are God.
God, we pray, glorify yourself. Hallowed be your name among the Vyas Brahmin people. And please bless your church in India from other parts of the world outside India. Send laborers into the harvest field. That the Vyas Brahmin people might be reached with the good news of the one true God who loves them enough to save them from their sins. Oh God, we praise you as the one true God; there is no other. And we pray that you’d help us to live today for your purpose, to make your glory known in each of our little worlds and in the broader world around us, among all the nations. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
