Daniel 5:22-23 - "But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you
knew all this.
Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.
You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles,
your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised
the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see
or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds
in his hand your life and all your ways.
Nebuchadnezzar’s son Belshazzar took over
as king while his father was left to be crazy for 7 years. He loved his parties…and
loved the things around him even more. One
party he remembered the beautiful golden cups his father had brought back from
the Temple in Jerusalem…and had them brought out to use that evening. As they
drank and made a merry time…a disconnected hand appeared and wrote three words
on the wall before his eyes. But once
again none of his magicians could translate their meaning.
The Queen reminded him of Daniel…so he was
called for to tell them what they meant.
His news that the king’s days were numbered….his kingdom would be
divided…and his prideful life would be judged to the fullest…were paired with
Daniel’s take on the reason. He told the
king that he should have learned a lesson about humility from what happened to
his father. He told him that he should
have honored Jehovah ….who held evry moment of our lives completely in his
hands. Belshazzar died that very night.
It is a great reminder to me that God holds
my life…all of it…every moment I am allowed to breathe. He controls what
blessings or tragedies can become a part of my time here. He alone chooses to protect and show mercy
for the sin we allow to become a part of our life….or allow our mistakes to
tumble into a life lesson that is meant to bring us to a greater understanding
of who he is. The chances of staying on the mercy side of his glory are
increased greatly if we maintain humility and see God as the creator and owner
of everything we have.
Staying humble is not a guarantee of a
blessed life…it just helps us to understand that the bad things that come our
way have some purpose in God’s great master plan. I will be the first to admit that I am more
of a Belshazzar…than a Daniel. I struggle daily…especially this time of year to
see purpose in the things that have happened to me that I perceive to be bad. I
know in my heart that everything has a purpose under the son…and believe
Solomon’s words from Ecclesiastes 3….but sometimes it is just hard to see the
good in a divorce that broke up my first marriage…and to accept as a good thing
the death of my second after such a short time. Even when I can see the purpose…it
is still hard to be strong…and wait on God to show me the rest of his master
plan to use it for good. I drift into times of…I need this because it will make
me feel better…even if I know I don’t have God’s permission. The amazing thing
is that God loves me through those times…and shows me mercy anyway.
Father…. Thank you for one more reminder
that you are in complete control of everything I have…and you have a plan to
prosper me and bless me beyond my imagination.
Forgive me for the times that I have done things just to make me feel
better…and hindered the work you are trying to do in me. Help me to find the strength of Daniel…and
Paul…and Jeremiah…to listen and do exactly what you tell me. Amen.
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