LEARNING DAILY

 

Daniel 4:30, The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

 

Would you agree with me that God works hard and does all He can to get people’s attention? Even when people are at their very worst, He tries to move in their lives to get them to change and come to Him. I think if you take time to consider all of the things, He did to demonstrate His love and power to His people, especially in times of spiritual crisis, you will see He never abandoned them. God never changes and it is good to remember that He never abandons us; He just pours out His love and His grace upon us. I wonder what God will do to humble the proud in order to bring him/her to the point of recognizing their need to place their faith and trust in the only One who can truly save and change them?    

 

God had warned King Nebuchadnezzar a dream, interpreted by Daniel, about how He would humble him, bring on a period of insanity, cause him to eat grass while living among the animals outside his palace. After what Nebuchadnezzar has seen God do, he still believes that all his accomplishments have been as a result of his own abilities; he fails to see God working through him. The result is a heart filled with false pride. He is an example for God to show His power and demonstrate what God is willing to do to get a person to know, acknowledge and turn to Him.

 

Nebuchadnezzar is walking on a roof of the palace and is feeling pretty proud of what “he” has done in Babylon. It might be the most famous city in the ancient world; its gardens were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the world. Even as he was giving his ego extra pats on the back, he does not realize the dream he had is about to come to pass and his living space is about to be with the animals. In fact, the next verse tells us, “While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!”  the king’s boasting was interrupted, and judgment fell; the fulfillment of the dream had begun.

 

You can read about this in Daniel 4. What is the lesson for us? It seems to be obvious – humility! How often do we look at position, wealth, possessions like Nebuchadnezzar did as he looked over Babylon and think, “Look at all I have achieved and look at how people honor me because of what I have done.” How often do people think they do not need God or give Him the honor He is due because they believe He has had no hand in what they have or have done? Too often we are like Nebuchadnezzar who had to be reminded in a very strange way that who the source of his success was.

 

Proverbs 16:18 reminds us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” There are other proverbs that speak of the danger of the sin of pride. Pride is an arrogant attitude that declares one is independent of God. From the example of Nebuchadnezzar that belief is certainly a hazard to our well-being. The only way to avoid the pride that goes before a fall is to respect and submit to God in every aspect of our life; walk on a narrow way that is dependent on and led by the Holy Spirit who is cleaning us daily to live in God’s eternal kingdom. The proud person will walk a broad way, serving only himself and boasting of what he/she has accumulated and achieved; that leads to destruction. The one who is humble boasts only in God and what He has done in his/her life. Humility and fear of the Lord is the only way to assure one will not fall off the narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom.

 

God wants to get our attention; it may not be as dramatic as what He did in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Whether pride is a problem or something else that you might have established as an idol in your life, join me and repent of it and begin to submit to Him in every aspect of your life.