In the days of Daniel, the king Nebuchadnezzar thought he was invincible and yet God had another plan. This man was “driven from among men, and his dwelling was with the beasts of the field. He was made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time passed over him, until he knew that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Daniel 4:17-32) After this time of insanity, this proud king declared:
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, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:34–35)In many cases, national leaders have little knowledge of God. Even these days, I’ve heard it said that while many Christians have biblical understanding that God is ruling, is totally sovereign, yet in practice they live like atheists. This does not always mean they are not really Christians, but that the full realization of this truth has not yet grabbed hold. The flesh still has not realized it is dead (separated from God) or the reality of fleshy action has not been recognized. If that is happening, some Christians run their own lives as if God is there only to forgive sin and take them to heaven.
This can be the result of inadequate teaching, or just a proud heart that does not see their need to diligently study the Word of God. Whatever the reason, God teaches us through trials. When trouble comes, the goal is to realize He can be trusted within the trial. For Nebuchadnezzar, God removed it. For some, the difficulty stays.
Either way, eventually all of us are terminal. What goes unlearned here will not benefit this life or give us the peace of knowing God is in charge. Far better is that “abundant life” Jesus promised to His sheep. We need to be able to say this about those who think they are in charge of things:
Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. (Isaiah 40:21–25)He also says this, and these words give me a calm heart:
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” (Psalm 2:1–6)PRAY: Father, I am so glad that You are on the throne and that the rulers of this world are not greater, stronger, or in charge over You. I can pray and even protest their ideas if You want me to do that, or I can rest in Your care and trust You, learning what You want me to learn from all trials. Nothing happens to the lives of Your people that escapes Your power to use it for our good — which is to transform us into the image of Your Son Jesus.
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