Daniel 4:36-37 - At the same time that my sanity was restored,
my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my
throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and
exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because
everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those
who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Nebuchadnezzar had a terribly frightening dream that none of
his magicians or astrologers could interpret. Daniel was the only one that God
favored to know its meaning…but even Daniel was terrified by the insight God
provided him. He had to tell the king
that the dram was a prediction of his fall.
God was going to allow him to lose his sanity and drive him from the
kingdom that was so strong. He would
live for 7 years as a wild animal eating grass before he would be restored to
power.
The problem was the King’s pride. He realized Daniel’s God was a powerful God….but
he never accepted that he had done anything wrong. His pride was his fall…and until he gave God
the credit for all that he had accomplished…until he repented of his sin and
ask God for mercy …his power on the throne was in danger of crumbling. It was a
short year till the dream came true. It took 7 more years for the King to
realize that his pride stood in the way of his reinstatement as king.
Pride….the puffing up of our hearts and souls to believe
that we have any control over the things that happen to us. Pride…the false belief that we accomplish
anything on our own. Pride…the feeling that we are better that those around us
simply because God has given us a time of blessing and peace. It is still this
kind of false confidence that separates many a person from a deep relationship
with God…the kind of relationship that Daniel had.
God’s remedy for the king’s pride was a huge dose of
humility. The kind of humility that made
him homeless for 7 years. The kind of
humility that changed his diet to grass. It was the kind of humility that
blinded Saul for a time so God could show him how to use his power to preach the
rest of his life. It was the kind of
humility that gave the Messiah…the Christ child of Mary the power to live a
perfect life and then sacrifice it for all who would come into the world
after.
I will be honest and admit that I struggle with pride every
day. I know in my heart that all I have
belongs to God…and he has great power over the outcome of all that I do….but I
still fight daily to learn how to leave pride behind me and internalize the
kind of humility that would give me the power I know God wants me to have
through him. I hear Paul’s struggle from Romans 7:21-25 in my head… “ So I find this law at work: Although I want to
do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s
law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind
and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be
to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Father …thank you for the reminder that my struggle with
pride is not uncommon to all. Forgive me
for all the times that I have let the world win the battle with pride and model
the wrong thing for the ones you have placed me with. Strengthen me through the blood of Christ
that saved me and allow me to feel the power that you can give me to overcome….so
I can be a strong warrior for you like Paul and Daniel. Amen.
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