Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

 Daniel 4:34-37: At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the people of earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of Heaven and the peoples of earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him; “What have you done?” At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of Heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Today’s inspirational message comes from a sermon I heard a few weeks ago, instead of one of our historical Christian romance books. To get the full picture of our featured verses, you will want to back up and read all of Daniel chapter 4. Let me give you a quick recap.

God had sent several warnings to King Nebuchadnezzar about his need to humble himself before God. When he ignored all of God’s warnings, God put him in exile. After laying down his pride and humbling himself before God, he was restored to his former position. This is where our verses pick up for today, as King Nebuchadnezzar shares his encounter with God and all that He had done for him.

Pastor Jon used Nebuchadnezzar’s story to address this lie in our culture today: I can do anything I want, and you can’t judge me. This is pride. The same kind of pride that Nebuchadnezzar dealt with.

This pride pushes us away from God because His word doesn’t affirm what we want. We end up seeking those who do affirm our wants whether they are right or not. In turn we see those who won’t affirm us as evil and as our enemy. When in reality we’ve allowed pride to turn us into the villain who lashes out and hurts those who love us enough to speak the truth.

We’ve all struggled with pride at some point in our lives. Because of that we’ve experienced the reality of Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. This is exactly what Nebuchadnezzar experienced.

There is a lot we can learn from Nebuchadnezzar. First is the painful part. He refused to heed God’s word and the warnings he sent him through his servants. Are you ignoring God’s warnings? Has he sent his servants to minister to you? Have you heeded their warnings or turned them away? Learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s fall and lay your pride to rest and surrender to God and His will before you end up scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

Now for the good part. The multiple warnings God gave Nebuchadnezzar reminds us of God’s character which is summed up well in Psalm 86:15 – But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. Or as Peter wrote in 2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

God will never stop pursuing you. He will patiently wait. However, never underestimate the lengths He will go to or the fires He will walk you through in order to not only make you His but refine you as well.

When you finally come to the end of yourself and run into His arms, He blesses you beyond your wildest dreams. For when we live in sin, we take away God’s ability to bless us. Yet He is gracious when we repent.

Here are some words of wisdom to ponder from Pastor Jon Rauch.

Build your life as part of God’s kingdom, not yours.

Sin will harden our hearts and blind us from the truth.

In pride we look down on others in humbleness we look up to Heaven.

Stay grounded in God’s word.

Make much about the greatness of God in your life.

I’ll leave you with this final thought. When you tell the story of your life, who gets the credit you or God?