We can all be a little stubborn, but when it comes to accomplishing his will, God is the most stubborn of all

4 min read

“Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world…”

Daniel 4:32

The longer Dave and Ron talked, the clearer it became that Ron was bent on going ahead with the affair. Even when presented with a clear picture of what the outcome would be if he took that path – big time losses – he still wanted what he wanted.

No Bible verse, no advice, no warning was going to talk him out of it.

Ron was fully aware that there would be a long-term price, but he suppressed this awareness. It’s as if he put duct-tape over the mouth of his God-given conscience and ignored anyone who raised an eyebrow.

At that point the desire within him had become too strong to deny. He was like a semi-truck going down a mountain with no brakes. A crash was inevitable.

Sin is like that. It’ll make you completely irrational. When the cravings of our old, me-first nature go unchecked, eventually all reason goes out the window.

This is what happened in the beginning with Adam and Eve. And the same phenomenon repeats itself in us, their progeny, with regularity.

Nebuchadnezzar the Madman

The story of Nebuchadnezzar in the Bible is another prime example of the lunacy of sin. King Nebuchadnezzar was quite a powerful individual and he had the ego to go with it.

He believed in God, but not nearly as much as he believed in himself.

Nebuchadnezzar once had a graphic dream. He didn’t understand what the dream meant, so he brought in Daniel, a sharp POW from Israel, to interpret it for him. Turns out, the dream was God’s way of trying to get Nebuchadnezzar’s attention.

Daniel explained to him that if he didn’t change his approach as a man and as a leader, he was going to lose. He would lose his kingdom, lose his influence, and lose his mind – literally.

After interpreting the dream, Daniel courageously admonished him:

“King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” (Daniel 4:24)

This is what you could call an attempted intervention. But tragically, Nebuchadnezzar blew the stop sign. Instead of repenting, he kept right on going as before.

And sure enough, it happened. The events predicted in the dream became reality. Nebuchadnezzar crashed. For seven years, he was out of his mind. He went “out to pasture,” eating grass with the cows.

The Relevance

Someone has said If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten. That is, there comes a time when a change is necessary. And because of Jesus, real change is possible. Not just a cosmetic change, but a change that begins in your interior, in your heart, and radiates from there.

Because God knows us like no one else and also loves us like no one else, we shouldn’t be alarmed when he calls us out on something. It may hurt a little, but it’s an unavoidable part of the process of growth. After all, it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance in the first place. If he weren’t nice in his very essence, he wouldn’t bother.

Ron, Nebuchadnezzar, and Us

Stories like this one should prompt us all to ask, Is God trying to get my attention? Is he urging a change in me? And if so, what is my response to him?

If we ignore him like Nebuchadnezzar did, we can plan on difficulties ahead.

Otherwise, we can humble ourselves and say something like,

“Okay, Lord, I get it. Let’s do this. I’m willing to change, but I’m going to need your help and a lot of it.”

With this posture, we will avoid a lot of unnecessary hardship and be well on our way to maximizing the opportunities God gives us.

As for Ron, several months later he was involved in a serious accident on his construction job. He was laid up for a long time.

But thankfully, Ron is now walking with God again.

And Nebuchadnezzar, after struggling for seven years, was a changed man. This is what he said on the other side of his stint grazing with the animals:

“Now I…praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

-Daniel 4:37

To ignore God, as easy as it is to do, is pure madness. But to trust him and seek him first, that’s the sanest option available.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.