Daniel Week Four, Day Three Read Daniel 4:28-36 Cell phones were just starting to become popular when I was in high school. Unfortunately, while my friends were texting each other and playing snake, I was still scrounging up quarters to use a pay phone. You can google that if you don’t know what a pay phone is. One day, though, my mom surprised my sister and I with cell phones. I remember, though, that I was frustrated that they were prepaid phones instead of actual cell phones. To this day, I regret getting upset at my mom who had went out of her way to get us cell phones when she didn’t have to on top of, you know, giving birth to me and taking care of me all throughout my life. After Daniel interpreted the king’s dream and told him that God was going to take his kingdom and sanity away unless he repented of his wicked ways, the king went another year without making any changes in his life. As he was pointing out all the great things he had accomplished in his kingdom, God took away his sanity and his kingdom. After a period of time, the king finally turned toward God. He wasn’t angry at God. Instead, Nebuchadnezzar realized that God was the one who gave him his kingdom to begin with. Like the king, it’s easy for us to become convinced that we are responsible for the things we attain in our lives. In reality, everything we have and everything we are comes from the hand of God. Not only had God given the king his kingdom and authority, God had given Nebuchadnezzar his very life. God is our source of life. Apart from Him, we are nothing and would have nothing. God blesses us by allowing us to enjoy the achievements we attain in our lifetimes, but His desire is for them to point us to His love and care for us. The fact that God has given us everything shouldn’t make us feel bad about ourselves. It’s quite the opposite, actually. We should be eternally grateful for the life that we get to experience because of the grace of God. REFLECT: What things in your life would you be upset about if God started to take them away? Money, time, possessions, friends, family? Take a few minutes to remember that God is the one who has blessed you with those things to begin with. PRAY: Take several minutes today thanking God for blessing you with the things you were reflecting on. Ask Him to help you have an attitude of gratitude toward Him instead of convincing you’re responsible for all you have. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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