This week's Bible Study - September 23, 2007
Handling Success Successfully
 Background Scripture:
Daniel 4:1-37
Quote of the Week:
As you climb the ladder of success, be sure it's leaning against the right building.
-- Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
There are plenty of seminars and books that you can find that can tell you how to find success. Self help books regarding success in careers, finances, relationships, or just about anything else exist in every bookstore and library around the world. People are desperately trying to find out how to become successful. They will invest time and money, making sacrifices, chasing success.
Some people spend all of their time looking for success - very few actually find it. However, when success is found, there are very few books that can be found that tell you how to deal with it. And, there are very few people that handle success successfully. There are plenty of stories about people that have won the lottery and lost all perspective of their lives.
It would appear that Nebuchadnezzar had learned a lot from Daniel and his friends. They stayed true to their beliefs and God had worked in many miraculous ways. Although it appeared to take a while, Nebuchadnezzar began to praise God as well. He went from being someone who doubted God to being a king that spoke of the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God had performed - for him. Sometimes, God works in a mighty way in our lives, yet we tend to forget to let anyone else know about it. When was the last time that you told somebody about the works that God has performed in your life?
The king had a kingdom and even to this day is considered to be one of the world's greatest and most powerful kings. However, when he spoke of God, he spoke of a kingdom that was eternal and of the dominion of God that endures from generation to generation. It would appear that Nebuchadnezzar had turned the corner and was now fully devoted to God.
The king lived a prosperous life. It seemed that everything was going his way. He spoke of how he was content and prosperous. Even during this time of prosperity, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that made him afraid. He had another dream that terrified him. He had to know what the meaning of the dream was. So, what had he learned?
Earlier, we read about how he had a dream and summoned all of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners - so that they could tell him his dream and what it meant. They couldn't relate the dream and the king was so upset that he was ready to put them to death. Daniel had come to the rescue - and God had given him the dream and its meaning. In this case, the king remembered the dream - so he just needed an interpretation. He went through the same steps of calling the wrong people, before turning to Daniel, in whom he recognized the spirit of the holy gods.
Nebuchadnezzar didn't understand everything about God - but he had seen God work in many ways. So, you would think that when he encountered problems, he would turn to God by default. But, instead, he went back to the same people that had failed him before. Are we any different, really? As believers, we know what God can do - we probably have seen him at work in our lives on several occasions. But, when we have problems, are we turning to God or somewhere else?
Daniel, called Belteshazzar, came to speak to the king. The king acknowledged that the spirit of the holy gods was in him, and no mystery was too difficult for him. He surely remembered how Daniel had told him his dream and then interpreted it. Now, he knew the dream and he told it to Daniel, expecting the interpretation. The king spoke of how he saw a vision of an enormous tree in the middle of the land. It was very large and strong and it seemed to reach to the skies, visible from all ends of the earth. It had beautiful leaves, abundant fruit and it provided food for all. The beasts found shelter in the shade and birds lived in its branches. This sounds like a nice dream - not a terrifying dream - at least to this point.
In his visions, the king saw a messenger - a holy one, coming down from heaven. We don't know a lot about this messenger, but we know that he got the king's attention. Can you imagine what it might take to get the attention of the king? You can probably imagine the president or another political leader coming down the street - who would he recognize? The messenger told him to cut down the tree. He was to strip off the leaves and scatter the fruit. No longer would the tree be home to birds and animals. Even the stump was to be bound. Then came the part that most likely terrified the king,. The dream seemed to switch focus from the great tree to a great kingdom with Nebuchadnezzar as the king. The words to the king were that he would be drenched with the dew of heaven and live with the animals, among the plants. He would lose his mind for a long period of time - his sanity would be gone.
This decision of the messenger was so that mankind would come to know that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives the ability to rule to anyone he wishes. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar spoke of Daniel having the spirit of the holy gods in him. However, this was a message from the Most High God. The king needed to know what the dream meant.
The dream even caused a state of confusion for Daniel. The dream even terrified him. The king told Daniel that the dream should not alarm him - neither the dream nor the meaning. Daniel told the king that he had hoped that the meaning of the dream was meant for the king's enemies or adversaries. However, the large, beautiful tree that was so full of life in the vision was meant to be the king. The message of the messenger was meant for the king.
King Nebuchadnezzar listened to the decree that the Most High God had issued against the king. For a period of seven years, the king would lose his mind, be driven away from people and becoming like an animal. This would be until the time that Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the sovereign nature of the Most High God and that God would give authority over kingdoms to whomever he desired. The good news was that the kingdom would be restored when the king acknowledged that Heaven rules.
What was the advice to the king? Daniel told him that he should renounce his sins by doing the right thing. He should become kind to the oppressed - when these things had occurred, his prosperity would continue. I wonder if this is still how God works. There are very few that end up losing their mind and becoming like animals, but what does it take to get our attention, so that we turn from our evil ways and follow God?
After the dream had been fulfilled, nothing happened. I wonder how long the king was on pins and needles, waiting to see if the dream was true. How long before he quit being careful - and slid back into the life he had been living? It was twelve months later when the king was looking out over Babylon and saying that the kingdom had been built by his own power and for his own glory.
Even while the words were still on his lips, a voice came from heaven and announced that the royal authority had been taken away from the king. He was also told that he would be driven from people and would live with the wild animals. This was the very fulfillment of the dream. Immediately, the dream was fulfilled and Nebuchadnezzar was driven away from people and he ate grass like cattle. He became like an animal, as God had said.
At the end of the time, the king raised his eyes toward heaven and his sanity was restored. Then, Nebuchadnezzar praised the Most High God, speaking of his eternal dominion and the kingdom of God that endures from generation to generation. He praised God, who does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No person could stand against God. As the king had his sanity restored, so was his honor and splendor for the glory of his own earthly kingdom. He was sought out by his advisors and restored to his throne, greater than before. Through this experience, the king praised and exalted and glorified the King of heaven, who does everything right and just.
Closing
It would seem that the king had gotten it all together, but it became apparent that he still hung onto himself. It wasn't until he fully acknowledged God that he became the king that God wanted him to be. It was a series of events that led to this point.
What does God want to teach you? God wants to be the one we turn to in all of our needs. Do you turn to him first, or is it only after everything else fails? There are many avenues that we can turn to, but God wants to be our first and last choice.
You may have found success in your life, but have you learned how to deal with it? When we think of how we have found success, do we attribute any of that to God? I know many Christians that will point to God and claim his role, but is it evident by the way we live? Success is not about pointing to our own accomplishments, but to acknowledge God in all areas of our lives. Even when we have a measure of success, is it as much as God could have given us? The king was a great king before these events happened, but after this experience, his kingdom was far larger and greater. Acknowledge God's role in your life and follow his ways. You may be surprised at the measure of success you will find.
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