August 25th

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

             Then Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation terrify you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies!  The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong, so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the end of the whole earth,  whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests— it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth.  And whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field; and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him’—  this is the interpretation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king:  You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, you shall be bathed with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and gives it to whom he will.  As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be re-established for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign.  Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”

Daniel 4:19-27

           

            The King had a dream.  King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and he knew that it meant something…something important.  None of his magicians or wise men were able to tell him the meaning of his dream, so he called in his chief advisor and most trusted wise man, Daniel who was going by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar.  The King recited his dream:  There was a great and mighty tree that was cut down.

            Daniel swallowed a few times and looked nervous before the king convinced him to explain the dream.  Daniel obeyed.  The king was going to be driven mad by God, sent out into the woods to live with the beasts and eat grass until he realized that God was king of kings and the Lord of all creation.  All of the intellect and wisdom and charisma that Nebuchadnezzar used to rule his vast empire would be stripped away from him and he would be little more than a wild animal trying to survive through the seasons.

            When we were getting my son diagnosed, I reflected on this passage some.  I have also thought it through when I learned about loved ones having cancer or friends developing life-threatening illnesses.  One of my first responses on learning of tragic things happening to other people tends to be me trying to figure out if this is God striking down what I love and cherish so that I will learn a lesson and draw closer to Him and then when I’ve done that, everyone will be restored to full health and capability, just like Nebuchadnezzer was.

            When I was young, I tried really hard to learn whatever God wanted me to learn so that people I loved would get better…and nothing seemed to work.  I thought that maybe I just had not learned my lesson and if I tried harder then everyone could get what they wanted.

            To be clear:  this is not how God works.  This was a vain attempt on my part to have some sort of control as my life was being turned upside down.  Has God used pain and tragedy and health issues in the past to speak to people and bring them closer to Him?  Yes.  Definitely.  Is every health scare that happens to anyone that I know God’s way of getting my attention?  No.  Shockingly, the world neither revolves around me nor is dependent upon my faithfulness to survive.   My sin and character flaws have caused lots of problems over the years, but they have never been the reason that someone got cancer.

            We are not the center of the universe…we are barely the center of our own story.  Everyone else that you meet has their own story that they are working through.  They have their own successes and failures; they have their own relationship with God that they have to work out on their own.  This includes our children.  Sometimes working out their issues with God means walking hand in hand with their creator.  Sometimes that means wrestling back and forth with who God is and what He asks.  Sometimes that means being humbled by God and learning that His is the King of Kings…not us.

            In those times, when our loved ones are in a struggle with their creator, it is not up to us to fix their life or their faith for them.  It is not up to us to grab control.  We are tasked with simply being available to love and support them as they struggle.  We remind them that we love them and that God loves them and that it will be ok.  Sometimes we have wise words to share.  Often we just sit in silence with them as they cry.

            Growth is a hard thing to watch.

A moment to reflect:

How can you be supportive of your child as they wrestle with their faith?