In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. – Daniel 2:44

Today’s Scripture Reading (March 20, 2017) Daniel 2

We spend so much of our lives trying to get to the top. We aspire to gain more knowledge – to be the one who knows or is the absolute best in at least one area of our lives. And yet, one of the more comforting thoughts is that there is someone who is beyond us – even if you are a King.

Nebuchadnezzar was not just a king – he was a king at the peak of his career. He had obtained a position in life about which most of us can only dream. And yet – even at the height of his power, the king knew that his superior position was only a passing situation – a situation that could change.  And so the king had a dream. A modern day counselor might think that the king’s confidence was shaken, that the fears of life and death that his conscious thoughts refused to consider, his subconscious refused to forget. So the result of this war between what he was unconsciously aware of and what his conscious self refused to believe was that the King dreamed.

The story also seems to indicate a certain loneliness in Nebuchadnezzar. It is evident that Nebuchadnezzar had little or no trust in his advisors. But God still wanted to get him a message. And the message was that although Nebuchadnezzar was king – God was still in control. Everything that was happening in the present was only occurring because God was allowing it to happen. No matter how big we get to be, this is the truth that we need to understand – God is in control. And that should be a good thing. It is often what we need to know. We often fight against him, but like a child, we long for the security of his plan.

Daniel made sure that Nebuchadnezzar knew two things. That God was the author of the dream (that he was the one in control) and that he wanted Nebuchadnezzar to hear from him. He wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand the message. And no matter how powerful his kingdom would become, God was still the one calling the shots – and it was only God’s kingdom would never end.

And that is still the message, written from the hand of our God.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 24