God Humbles the Proud

 “‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’ Daniel 4:27 NLT

When you see or hear the word perhaps, it tells you that the person speaking is unsure of something. You get the feeling that some unpleasant events are about to unfold. Daniel had that uncertainty when he spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar. There was no mistaking the message God sent to the king. Daniel was troubled; this was not the first dream he interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar.

But there was something unsettling about this dream. Verse 19 says, “Upon hearing this, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was overcome for a time, frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then the king said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t be alarmed by the dream and what it means.’ “Belteshazzar replied, ‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you! So Daniel explained the dream to the king.

The dream told about the king’s future. He was prosperous and powerful but God was about to humble the king. Daniel told him that he would live in the fields with the wild animals for seven years; however Daniel gave him some good advice: stop sinning and do what is right. That would require the king to submit to the authority of God. He would have to admit that his way was wrong and sinful before a holy God.

The pride of who he was, and what he was able to accomplish, overpowered the desire to humble himself before God. One year later, Nebuchadnezzar looked at what he accomplished. He said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ That same night, he became like an animal and lived in the fields. Perhaps, if he humbled himself before God, he would not have been humbled by God.

Thought for Today: Friends, let’s humble ourselves before God humbles us.

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory.