Full of Faith

 

Daniel 4:37a Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven 

It took a lot to finally get through to King Nebuchadnezzar.

He was a “typical” king of those eras so many years ago who felt he was always right, had no patience for anything or anyone who got in his way, was short-fused, and temperamental.  We see all of that in the first few chapters of Daniel.  

But God had His way and His plan for bringing this pagan king around and it included allowing those Jewish sons of nobility (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah) to be taken captive.  God gave those boys courage and wisdom to stand firm in their faith in a way that had a dramatic impact on Babylon that could never have happened any other way.   

Nebuchadnezzar had the opportunity to learn God’s ways from their stand against eating his food (chapter 1).  He saw them stand out as ten times better than all the other "wise men," all the other magicians and enchanters in his kingdom. 

     The result? Those young men were put to work in the king's palace (Daniel 1:19-21).

Then Nebuchadnezzar saw God’s power over dreams and future events in chapter 2, when only Daniel was able to tell him what his dream had been and what it meant.   

     The result? King Nebuchadnezzar's response was to tell Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods, and Lord of kings" (Daniel 2:47).

He obviously did not “get” the message then because he turned around and built that image of himself to be worshiped in chapter 3.  

     The result? He saw God’s power on behalf of Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego, when God preserved them in the fiery furnace. This time, he declared to everyone, "There is no other god who is able to rescue in this way" (Daniel 3:29).

He finally, after that incident, appeared to get the message that their God was greater than anything he had encountered, but he still wasn’t convinced that their God was the One to worship. 

King Nebuchadnezzar even had to lose his mind for a while, becoming totally unable to live as a normal human being (Daniel 4), before he "got" it.

     The result? He became convinced of the majesty, power, and authority of Daniel's God, and declared, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just..." (Daniel 4:37).

I am encouraged for my own life and times to see that God still was willing to keep bringing events into Nebuchadnezzar's life that would bring him to full faith.   

That is why I keep praying for unsaved and unrepentant people I know, I keep praying for the leaders of governments around the world, asking God to bring people like Daniel and his three friends, and events, like dreams, the fiery furnace and extreme illness, into their lives to draw them to faith.   

The last we read of King Nebuchadnezzar is his declaration of belief: “Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (4:37).

I want to be like Daniel, Shadrach, Mishach, and Agednego when I grow up. It was their lives and their prayers and their examples of faith that made the difference for King Nebuchadnezzar.

Full of faith. Standing firm in that faith. Praying with faith. Used by God to bring others to faith.

Faith-filled confidence

Today, in my chronological reading through the Bible, I have started another challenging book of prophecy - the book the the prophet Daniel.  And once again, I have seen how much I can glean for my own personal, 21st century life.

As I read through the events of Daniel’s life in the first three chapters of the book, one characteristic of Daniel and his three friends stands out to me – 

       their CONFIDENCE.

As a new captive/recruit in chapter one, Daniel was CONFIDENT of the results the chief of the eunuchs would see in the young men if they ate only vegetables. 

And he was proven correct. 

Then, in chapter two, Daniel was CONFIDENT of his ability to learn the king’s dream and its interpretation. 

And he was proven correct. 

In chapter three, Daniel’s three friends were CONFIDENT of God’s ability to save their lives if thrown into the fiery furnace. They were confident in their faith in God. 

And they were proven correct. 

True faith breeds confidence that is above the norm. 

I want that kind of confidence for facing the challenges in my own life. 

Faith-filled confidence.

Leave by a Different Gate

Ezekiel 46:9b No one is to return through the gate by which they entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate.

This was my last morning of reading the book of Ezekiel, and it has ended with a powerful lesson for me.

This verse is talking about the people who come to the temple in Jerusalem to participate in worship. They were not to leave the temple the same way they came in.

Although here Ezekiel was talking about the Jews coming for their regular worship and doing so in an orderly manner, I see something there for myself as well.

My encounters with God in worship should have me leaving by a different “gate.”   

I need to be different in some way whenever I leave God’s presence.  

If I am always coming and going the same way, if I am no different from my encounter with God in worship, that means I am stale.

If my life does not change after being in God's presence, I have missed the point of worship.

If my view of God, myself and/or the world around me does not change after worship, I have not listened carefully to God's voice.

If I am not more conscious than ever of God's power and authority over my life, I have not heard His message to me.

All through the book of Ezekiel, he, as God's prophet, was reminded that all God does has God's one goal in mind: "That they may know that I am the Lord."

If I do not go away from every encounter with God in worship knowing that He is the Lord of the universe, I will be leaving by the same gate I entered.

If I am leaving out from the “opposite gate,” the implication is “change.”  That is what God wants for me.