Some People Are Just Hardwired To Resist Faith
*The end of the story:
Daniel 4:34-35
Then I (Nebuchadnezzar), praised the Most High and Holy God and honored and glorified him who lives forever:
For his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing,
and he does what he wants with the army of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth.
There is no one who can block his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”
*Flash back one year before:
God went out of his way to convert the mighty King of Babylon. Prophecies against him proved more than once. Even the power of the kings fiery furnace is held off from harming God's children who were thrown into the furnace because of the Kings blind fury. God smacks him down time after time. And even for a time, about a year, the king holds his tongue and obeys God's name, but then one evening, he's on his rooftop and he's pridefully looking out over his kingdom. And he pronounced, "Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?"
And BAM!
Just like that he's dumb as a cluck. He's made dumb like an animal and just as the prophetic word from Daniel's dream interpretation said, he runs off into the wild to live like an animal, eating grass like cattle. While the words were still in the king’s mouth he literally looses his mind and becomes like a wild man.
And at the end of the appointed time, God restored the king's sanity. Nebuchadnezzar looks up to heaven and he's restored. Imagine what that must have been like. Probably still had a fist full of grass in one hand and a mouth full as well. I can see it now as he spits the grass out of his mouth and looks at his handful in confusion. The he looks up at heaven and BOOM! There it is, he finally gets it.
Talk about sudden conversion. I can relate. My conversion didn't begin on my knees in repentance. For years I lived like God didn't exist. Oh I believed he was out there I suppose, somewhere, doing something. Nothing I was interested in. And not unlike the stubborn prideful king, I too had instances in my life where God had sent messages and even miraculous things happening that should have gotten through to my hard heart. But they didn't until I was brought right down to my lowest point in my life ever. I needed a complete break to get fixed. I needed to see that I was just living like an animal. Living by my flesh and desires. Thinking I was the ruler over all my days. I wasn't king of Babylon but I lived like I was my own god. And then the day finally came for me, my special day came. My eyes were opened, the so called scales came off, and I fell to my knees before the King of the Universe. I said I wanted him to be God, I'm done trying to be him. And I devoted every day going forward to keeping that change in my heart.
And everything was wonderful.
WRONG!
It hasn't been easy, it's been the same. Life is what it is. But now my heart is different. Life is the same but I've changed. Like the king of Babylon I was restored to sanity.
*The Rest Of The Story:
Look at what the king said:
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens, because all his works are true and his ways are just. He is able to humble those who walk in pride."
It's that simple. He and I learned our lessons. Life goes on, but now it's different, because we're different. God humbled us both, gave us a new heart, and from that day on he gave us understanding and a heart of praise for God's kingdom and glory.
He rewired us. What was once difficult (having an abiding faith), became easier than breathing. God created that reconnection and once again had friendship with his children. That's all any of this is ever about. God is just trying to connect. He'll try all sorts of things, hopefully he gets through before it's too late. I thank God he finally got through to me.
I will Praise God forever.