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Daniel 4
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this chapter. I see 2 ideas that really jump out at me as I am reading this chapter.
First is the idea that our relationship with God, our journey in faith, is a deeply personalized experience. At the same time, because we are all ‘human’, there are some common elements in many of our journey. In the king’s case, the exact details of his ups and his downs with God, and his eventual derangement are truly unique to him. But, I can certainly relate the themes that are present in his story - I experience the ups and the downs, and I experience the moments of clarity and the more dramatic moments of ‘coming home to God’ in my own spiritual journey. That is all completely relatable.
The second, and perhaps one of the most encouraging element (at least to me), is the idea that it is our decision to convene with God. In other words, God wasn’t going to force the king to trust in Him. God was certainly willing to demonstrate His sovereignty, and He was willing to do some extraordinary things to make His point (I can also relate to this in my life!), but ultimately the king had to choose to turn back to God. And, as always seems to be the case, God was waiting and ready when he did. I love this verse:
Daniel 4:34 “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, ...”
One of the things I have noticed in my own life is that I often don’t realize that I am swimming upstream and that I am working against God’s will, especially when I am weak on prayer and devotional life or living out my life in a more “Godly” fashion. When I am low on my spiritual disciplines, and tend to start to drift. And, as I do, I start to get out on the edges of God’s will for my life. Eventually, I am sometimes even totally off track. But then, when I have that moment of clarity and I look up to God, He is always there. And, I usually get this feeling of calm that washes over me...it is a sense of reassurance, that I am once again right where I need to be; I am living as God designed me once again. I feel like that feeling is what is being described here in verses 34-37...that ‘coming home’ feeling.
This morning, I am thankful for God’s patience, and for His always keeping His arms open for me when do as the king does here at the end of the chapter - when I come back home.
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By Steve AndersonI LOVE LOVE LOVE this chapter. I see 2 ideas that really jump out at me as I am reading this chapter.
First is the idea that our relationship with God, our journey in faith, is a deeply personalized experience. At the same time, because we are all ‘human’, there are some common elements in many of our journey. In the king’s case, the exact details of his ups and his downs with God, and his eventual derangement are truly unique to him. But, I can certainly relate the themes that are present in his story - I experience the ups and the downs, and I experience the moments of clarity and the more dramatic moments of ‘coming home to God’ in my own spiritual journey. That is all completely relatable.
The second, and perhaps one of the most encouraging element (at least to me), is the idea that it is our decision to convene with God. In other words, God wasn’t going to force the king to trust in Him. God was certainly willing to demonstrate His sovereignty, and He was willing to do some extraordinary things to make His point (I can also relate to this in my life!), but ultimately the king had to choose to turn back to God. And, as always seems to be the case, God was waiting and ready when he did. I love this verse:
Daniel 4:34 “At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, ...”
One of the things I have noticed in my own life is that I often don’t realize that I am swimming upstream and that I am working against God’s will, especially when I am weak on prayer and devotional life or living out my life in a more “Godly” fashion. When I am low on my spiritual disciplines, and tend to start to drift. And, as I do, I start to get out on the edges of God’s will for my life. Eventually, I am sometimes even totally off track. But then, when I have that moment of clarity and I look up to God, He is always there. And, I usually get this feeling of calm that washes over me...it is a sense of reassurance, that I am once again right where I need to be; I am living as God designed me once again. I feel like that feeling is what is being described here in verses 34-37...that ‘coming home’ feeling.
This morning, I am thankful for God’s patience, and for His always keeping His arms open for me when do as the king does here at the end of the chapter - when I come back home.