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.
(Daniel 4:37 NIV)
A tried-and-true statement from a king who had been humbled by the King of heaven. Earlier, Nebuchadnezzar had allowed his heart to be filled with pride. He looked at his great and vast kingdom and instead of giving God the glory, Nebuchadnezzar ascribed the glory to himself. “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” he thought to himself (Daniel 4:30). Although warned in a dream to repent of his pride, the king ignored the advice, so God afflicted him with a mental illness in order to humble him. Thankfully, the king was humbled in the process and his kingdom was restored to him.
Isn’t this the way God still deals with His children when they are at risk of becoming proud? When the apostle Paul boasted about his “surpassingly great revelations” of heaven, he too admitted that in order to keep him from becoming conceited, he was given a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him (2 Corinthians 12:7). It was then that he learned that he would much rather boast about his weaknesses (v.9).
When pride begins to creep in your life and God allows you to undergo a refining process to humble you, be grateful and obedient because “everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).
“For those who exalt themselves will be humble. ” – Jesus (Matthew 23:12)
