The fall and rise of Nebuchadnezzar is a story of hope, restoration and re-esablishment back into the Kingdom of God.
Be inspired by knowing that whatever your situation may look like, God is in the business of re-establishing His Kingdom in You.
I don’t know about you, but I know that for me personally, not all of my business practices were established in the Kingdom of God. I basically followed what the world was doing and, when the world’s system crashed, our business and our home almost went with it.
But God is faithful and I want to remind you of a king of old who lost his crown, lost his kingdom and lost his mind.
No, we’re not talking about Adam though I’m sure when he was thrown out of the garden of Eden, Eve probably had enough to say that would probably make any man lose their mind. This time though, I’m referring to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon in the days of Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was great and, the Bible tells us, so was he. But Nebuchadnezzar made the mistake many Christians let alone Christian businesses or ministries make … he forgot that it was God who gave him the power to get wealth, (Deuteronomy 8:18). And Nebuchadnezzar became pompus and full of pride, even rejecting Daniel’s offer of counsel to help him avoid the dream he’d had, coming to pass (see Daniel 4).
Just twelve months after Daniel interpreted the king’s dream, Nebuchadnezzar “spoke” his destiny into being. He walked into the palace of the kingdom of Babylon and declared:
“Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30 – emphasis mine)
The bible tells us that while the words were coming out of the king’s mouth, a voice from heaven was heard saying “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.”
And so the dream was fulfilled, Nebuchadnezzar was driven into the wild to live with the beasts, like the beasts, eating grass like the beasts and, he even looked like the beasts (Daniel 4:33).
But, the hour of restoration came to Nebuchadnezzar and he was re-established in his kingdom.
When Nebuchadnezzar looked to God, when he realised that he was powerless without God, the bible says that at the same time his reason returned to him. Notice the only requirement for Nebuchadnezzar’s re-establishment was his acknowledgement of who God was … ”the most High.” And when he understood this, God not only restored his kingdom to him, but more was given to him:
“At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.” (Daniel 4:36)
What is the business lesson here for the believer?
If you’re feeling as though you’ve lost it all in this world’s recession or you’re at breaking point, I’m telling you, “it aint over until God says it’s over!”
We didn’t see Nebuchadnezzar die in the wilderness. He could have done. After all, he was there seven years but, he did the one thing, God desired for him to do … to turn his heart back to God and move from a place of thinking and doing independence to dependance … on God.
And as Christian business owners and ministry leaders, we can get like that … territorial. We put up an invisible sign that says “God, I’m busy right now, and doing well thanks but when I need you, I’ll call.”
The gracious thing about God is that he waits. He waited for Nebuchadnezzar and when Nebuchadnezzar finally called on him after seven years, God immediately restored him.
You might think the boat is about to sink and there is no way even God can move so quickly to get you out of this mess. But, let me ask you this question …
What will it cost you if you don’t believe? What will it cost your family, your business or your ministry?
It is time to read the Word and, to pray and on a practical level, it’s time to ask yourself if your business or ministry is built up from Kingdom principles or, on the rocky world system. If you know your own famine resulted from you doing things the world’s way and not God’s way, it’s time for a re-dedication. Re-dedicate your business or ministry back to God and then ask his help to know and understand what practices you must cease and, what practices you need to now start implementing.
Trust me when I say this though … it isn’t time to start spending money on more business courses and development programs but, it is time to seek godly counsel.
The Holy Spirit is your guide, your mentor, your counsellor and, your leader into all truth and if you’ll allow him to speak into your life, you will know what steps to take next.
But don’t stop there!
Just because you think you have “the” plan, now is not the time to stop praying and stop seeking … you’ll abort the plan if you do that and then find yourself back to square one. Work with the Holy Spirit and direction into truth will be your honour.
If you want to watch the Web TV episode from which this article originated, you can watch it at Getting Maximum Results TV.
God Bless,
About Trish Jones