This morning I woke up with yesterday’s post on my mind. A few things stood out to me.
The king had a dream and asked Daniel to interpret it.
Daniel realizes it’s a warning from God for King Nebuchadnezzar, and is like, ‘Uh-oh’.
God gave the king a time-frame, and {I’d like to think} an escape clause, ‘Until you’ve learned‘…
But nothing happened for a year. {I wonder if the delay made the king think he could slide by?}
So he struts around his rooftop, admiring all his accomplishments, saying, ‘Look what I did.’
And immediately the warning came to pass.
But you know what struck me? When you read those scriptures again, it took the entire amount of time God originally said before King Nebuchadnezzar ‘looked up to heaven’. {Amazing how stubborn us humans can be, huh?}
And then his sanity returned.
And then he acknowledged God’s sovereignty.
And then his kingdom was restored.
The Bible called it ‘seven periods of time’, and since I’m no scholar, I really don’t know exactly what that means. Maybe seven years? Maybe seven days? I don’t know. Either way, what I do know is that the king didn’t ‘learn’ the lesson God intended for him until the complete time frame was over.
But it makes me wonder….what if he had?
What if before the ‘seven periods of time’ was complete, the king had ‘looked up to heaven’? I wonder if his sanity would have returned sooner? I wonder if his kingdom would have been restored to him quicker?
Why did it take King Nebuchadnezzar the entire time to get the lesson?
You know, the one that says…God’s in charge. He’s the One in control. He is our Source. Everything comes from Him. We produce nothing in and of ourselves.
And yet, most of the time…we are so convinced we do.
We think that job came about due to our qualifications.
We think that promotion was given to us because of our hard work.
We think we bought that house because we saved our money so well.
We think we drive a beautiful car because we earned it.
We think that church service went so smooth because we’re so good at leading it.
We think, we think, we think….
Just like King Nebuchadnezzar thought. ‘See what all I have accomplished by my own hands.’
Oops.
Wrong answer.
God gives us the mental capacity to even have ‘qualifications’.
God gives us the promotion because it serves His purpose well.
God gives us that home because it’s a part of His plan.
God gives us the ability to even drive that car.
God orders that church service to go smooth because people have come to see Him.
He gives. He allows. He opens.
And…
He withdraws. He hinders. He closes.
Why?
“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” {Isaiah 55:8, NLT}
That’s why.
Because He said.
Not because you did.
Don’t get me wrong, He expects us to give our best. He doesn’t reward laziness. But…if we’ve done everything we know to do and still nothing?…then rest assured there’s a reason. He has a plan. He’s in control. You’ve done your part. Now let Him do His.
Acknowledge that He’s running this show. Not you.
And try getting that lesson before…’seven periods of time’ have passed.
I’m just thinking it might make your life a teeny bit easier.
Or…maybe not. 
{Image courtesy of Flickr}
