Wake-up calls

I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. – Daniel 4:37

A strong, young brute often swaggered around town boasting that he could walk a barbed wire fence in his bare feet with a wildcat under each arm. So goes the story according to the Iron County Miner. The braggart got a rude awakening, however, when he married a strong-willed little lady who made him wash the dishes twice a day.

Another rude awakening occurred when a platoon sergeant roused a new recruit after his first night in an army barracks. "It’s four-thirty!" bellowed the sargeant. "Four-thirty," gasped the rookie. "Man, you’d better go to bed. We have a big day tomorrow!"

We are all inclined to dream our way through life until someone or something confronts us with the real world. For Nebuchadnezzar, king of ancient Babylon, the wake-up call lacked humor. Before his encounter with God, he thought he had life well in hand. Suddenly he found himself on his hands and knees eating grass like an animal (Daniel 4:33). After seven long years (v. 32) he learned that in the real world everyone must live under authority, everyone is on God’s time, and everything we possess is a gift from His gracious hand.

Father, wake us up today. Make us aware of what it means to live under Your wise and loving authority. – Martin De Haan

When life is all sunshine and days are bright,

Our thoughts of the Lord may take wings of flight;

But God is still ruler, His kingdom stands,

And we all are subject to His commands. – K. De Haan

READ: Daniel 4:28-34

A person who thinks too much of himself thinks too little of God.