01/13/2022 – When Pride is Humbled
It was lunch time in a New York City High School, the lunchroom was ruled by a single bully and his cronies the did his bidding. They would rob their fellow students of their lunch money, harass the lunchroom staff, they were just bad dudes all around. Everyone’s expectation was that they would have to endure a miserable lunch period when the bully and his company where attending. One infamous lunch period, two unsuspecting brothers from the ESL program, attended lunch period for the very first time, the brothers where humble, soft spoken, short in stature, didn’t speak English, and totally unaware of the bully’s rein over the lunchroom. As fate would have it, the bully attempted to enforce his dominance by stealing the two brothers’ milk from their lunch tray. I will never forget what happen next, everyone was in shock as the bully was chop down like a tree, it was raining punches down on the bully, his cronies were powerless to assist. In the days the follow the encounter, the bully’s rein over the lunchroom greatly diminished and he had no recourse but to respect others. The bully was taught a powerful and painful lesson that day, don’t mess with the food of two hungry brothers that came to America for a better life.
Daniel 4:34
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.
What I am getting at is that singular moment of clarity, that instant in time when we come to the realization that our pride, our self-worth, our big ego has just been crushed. In the case of King Nebuchadnezzar, he was beaten down with seven years of insanity, in the case of the lunchroom bully, it took two brothers to beat the pride out of him. In both cases there was pain, crushing defeat and loss. At this moment perhaps your pride, your ego is being crushed, you are powerless to stop the insanity. It is precisely at this very moment that our restoration will begin when we, “raise our eyes towards heaven as King Nebuchadnezzar did”.
Today meditate on these verses:
Danial 4:
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.