The Daniel Discipline iv

And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. (Daniel 4:34)

In Daniel 3, Nebuchadnezzar was saved. He acknowledged that the God of the Hebrews was the highest God. While Nebuchadnezzar was trying to break the will of three young Hebrew kids that belonged to God, God saved Him. In his immaturity however, there were still other lesser gods. The truth of the matter is, when we come to faith in Christ, we all still try to hold on to our other gods. We simply try to add the name of Jesus Christ to a pile of old gimmicks, good luck charms and idle gods.

You may wonder why some folk do the things they do, things that seem senseless, unreasonable, even stupid -- why your Auntie keeps on giving herself to no good men – in her dysfunctional mind, she’s got to have a man at any cost… the problem is God is not her only God… Why your uncle gambles check after check away -- God is not his only God… You may wonder why it seems that some people love using drugs more than living life and soaking their sorrows in Alcohol -- God is not their only God. God will keep your mind!!! Isaiah 26:3 says “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” Moses is a picture of the law, and he is also a picture of what observing God’s law will do for a man. Deuteronomy 34:7 says “And Moses was 120 years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” I am no health, wealth, prosperity preacher at all, but I believe that really and truly loving God will preserve not just your soul, but your mind and your body.

We want God’s salvation without God’s sovereignty. We want God’s security without His sovereignty. We want God’s sufficiency without His sovereignty. We love to sing “Christ is my all and all”, but we really hate to sing “I surrender all.” Nebuchadnezzar was convinced that Yahweh-God was a fiery-furnace delivering God. He confessed and worshiped Yahweh as the “highest God”. Yet he was not converted to see God as the only God. He was not converted to the point of abdicating the throne of his life, that God might be the king’s King and indeed, the only King. Nebuchadnezzar had been inducted into the people of God, but he did not want to act like a child of God.

This story is tailored to teach us that God knows how to turn a “NO Lord” into a “YES Lord”. It’s not that you make up your own mind, but God is the cause of all Christian mind-making up, both voluntary and involuntary.

In chapter 4, God has determined, for His own accord, purpose and pleasure to snatch this man’s mind, drive him into seclusion from men, feed him grass like an animal, wake him up with the morning dew of heaven on his body, let his hairs grow to cover him like the feathers of a bird, and his nails like claws, WHY: to break his will and sanctify him unto Himself.

Some folk today have lost their minds; because, they won’t submit to God; some right feel secluded and lonely; because, they won’t submit to God. Others are homeless, eating out of the trash can, living in the elements, and you can’t help them (and I’m not saying don’t try); the issue is they will not submit to God.

You may think that this is a strange story and exclusive to Nebuchadnezzar. The truth is that the more you resist God, the more insane you become. Romans 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind…” Did you know that homosexuality use to be on the insanity list, until it has become so accepted today? But just because it is accepted today does not mean it’s not still insane. It’s crazy for man to have baby after baby and not sense a personal obligation to rear and raise that child in a strong family home. It’s downright crazy to lie down and have sex, become pregnant with a baby and go down to the abortion clinic and kill that baby talking about you got a right to do it… that’s insane. That kind of stuff is not only crazy, it makes one crazier.

The only basis for good ration and mental soundness is submission to God. The mighty hand of God disciplined this pagan king into a preacher of the Jewish monotheistic God; He testifies, “I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High.” Peter says, “Humble yourself...” That’s your chance to do it before God does it personally.