“47 The king said to Daniel, “For sure your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and He makes hidden things known. For you have been able to make known this secret.””
“28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. He has sent His angel and saved His servants who put their trust in Him. They changed the king’s word and were ready to give up their lives instead of serving or worshiping any god except their own God.”
We are all guilty, yes, guilty of trying that product we saw on TV or investing in that stock our friends said was a sure thing. Admittedly, we know we don’t have all the knowledge, and we are drawn to things that wow us and sometimes even try them. The get-rich-quick schemes, the get-fit-quick schemes, the get-out-of-debt-quick schemes, I could go on and on. Most of the time, they all fail, and we are left to gather the dignity we have left and move forward.
Nebuchadnezzar is a guy we all know from the Bible, partly because of his name, but mostly because of Daniel and Rach, Shack, and Benny. Our verses today come from two different chapters, back-to-back stories of how God saved his servants.
I love both of those stories. I believe we miss the folly of old Nebby though. Here is a guy who was an eyewitness to a great miracle when Daniel told him his own dream and then interpreted it. He was so moved he made Daniel a high commander in his kingdom, but moreover, he says that the God of Daniel is the “God of gods and Lord of kings.” God showed up, and Nebby was deeply affected.
The very next chapter, we find Nebby putting up a 90-foot-tall statue of himself for everyone to worship. Wait, didn’t he just say that the God of Daniel was the God of gods and Lord of kings? Wait for it. Rach, Shack, and Benny show up to the statue and refuse to bow. They get thrown into the fiery furnace and come out not even smelling of smoke. Nebby is so affected he says, “Praise be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” This would be the second time old Nebby has an encounter with God.
The crescendo of statements comes after another word from the Lord when Nebby was made to eat like an animal for seven years, and God restores him. In 4:37 it says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven.” If I were Nebby, I would hope I would get it sooner. The very next chapter, his grandson, a wicked and sinful man, is taken out by the Lord.
How many times will it take for you to catch up to the Lord? How many times does He have to show up in your life before you acknowledge Him in ALL your ways? Nebby had three eyewitness encounters that would have shocked all of us, and still, he fell away from the Lord.
You may have just come out of a bad relationship where God showed up and gave you the go-ahead to move on. You may have witnessed a miracle, or you were the miracle. Heck, you may have even had one of those Sunday morning angel’s-singing kind of encounters. The Lord of Lords and King of Kings wants you to commit ALL to Him. Don’t just be a hilltop acknowledger of the Lord. The folly of Nebby was that he was wowed by the miracles, but he never gave his heart to the Lord. Once time had passed, he was up to his old habits. If that is you today, then now is the time you stop the folly of your lack of commitment. Pray that the Lord will forever change your heart so that you can live for Jesus and deny the flesh every day, not just right after a great miracle, and then fall away.
Prayer: Jesus, I pray that you would direct us toward you in all things. I pray that we submit all of our hearts, minds, and souls to you, Jesus. I pray for a consistent, fervent hunger toward you in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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