Proverbs 16:18-19 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.
Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God
Good Morning,
I hope and pray all is well. I would like us to continue focusing on our dreams and moving forward. Today we come to Daniel 4 and in this chapter we find that King Nebuchadnezzar is at it again. The king has another dream and still gives the glory to himself and his gods. This is a story that leads to his conversion and acknowledgement that God is the Most High God who lives forever.
What I want us to learn from this story is that we must remain grounded in our faith and rely on God. We cannot become prideful as we grow higher in Him and forget Him along the way. As new doors open I want us to remember who is walking in us and that we are not walking alone. God is the creator and ruler over all things, we must at all times give Him all the honor and glory, because pride leads to destruction.
Daniel is called on once again and interprets the king’s dream. The king had a dreamed about a big tree that was high, beautiful and fruitful. It reached the heavens and spread throughout the ends of the Earth. A watcher, a holy one came down and ordered the tree be chopped down, leaving only stumps and roots in the ground. The holy one describes a man losing his senses and becoming like a wild beast of the Earth for seven years.
After the first three chapters and Daniel’s confidence in His God and all the glory the king gave to God for the interpretation of the first dream and the fiery furnace situation with Daniel’s friend, one would have thought the king learned his lesson. As we move forward pursuing our dreams, goals and desires we must remain grounded in Him. We will learn that the moment we become prideful God will humble us.
Even as the king had his dream, it didn’t reveal that he would be completely destroyed. It revealed he would be cut down to size. It revealed that he would be transformed into a beast and serve out his time until he gave God the glory and acknowledged that He was the Most High God. Sometimes God will humble us and cut us down to size because we become big headed and we begin to abuse our God given power.
The part of the dream I would like us focus on is after the tree was cut down to size the stumps and roots were to remain in the ground. This is letting us know that God was not trying to destroy him, but humble him into being restored in Him. Daniel used his gift to counsel the king into changing his ways and giving God the glory, instead of self-promotion, but the king did not obey his wishes. Twelve months had passed and then the dream became a reality.
Have you ever been cut down to size? Have you ever got beside yourself and God had to humble you? You could have been the star player on a sports team, you could have been the team lead in the office, you could have been the center of attention everywhere you went and then instantly it all turned around.
Sometimes we become so focused in our abilities that we forget about who gave us the abilities. We get so wrapped up in taking full credited for things and we forget how to give God glory for opening the doors and presenting us with the opportunity. God uses humility to keep us grounded, but in those moments we serve as the stumps and roots in the ground, awaiting to be restored. We must value the humbling experience and always see the positive things in it. When we are humbled we can walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
As we move forward in living out our dreams and going higher in God, I want us to remain grounded in our faith and in Him. I want us to consider ourselves the stumps and roots of the tree and allow the humbling experience we may be facing today to allow us to grow in our purpose. Today you may be set back, stuck or cut down to size because God is trying to tell you something. Maybe you have being abusing your power in the home, at the school, in the workplace, in your relationships or even in the church.
We have to keep in mind that the higher we get to our next levels in all areas of our lives, we cannot forget about God. We do nothing in our own strength, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Daily we must stay grounded in our faith and trust in God at all times!
Blessings,
Tennille L. Whittington
Prayer for Today
As I read this Lord we position ourselves to stay grounded in our faith, Lord we thank you for our humbling experiences, Lord we know and believe we can do all things through You, Lord we know there is nothing we can do without You, Lord we believe that You are the creator of all things, Today we give You all the honor and the glory, We thank You for opening new doors and allowing our lives to be restored in You! In Jesus name, Amen!
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