My Pleasure

“It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.  How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders” Daniel 4:2-3.

We have all probably known someone who is defined by their pride and greed.  However, I doubt anyone will ever live up to the level of King Nebuchadnezzar.  He blatantly and successfully led the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.  He stole many items from the treasury that were used in ceremonial offerings to God.  He kidnapped and murdered the people of Jerusalem.  He erected golden images, demanding all to bow down and worship with their lives on the line.  He continuously ignored disturbing visions that God sent him in dreams predicting his downfall.  God’s prophesy was fulfilled twelve months after God had forewarned Nebuchadnezzar of the most disturbing consequences of all.  Nebuchadnezzar was banished to the wilderness and took on the life and mind of wild animals.  There he ate and lived with the animals until his pride and greed was broken.  ‘At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored’ Daniel 4:34.  Chapter 4 of Daniel is one of the most powerful testimonies ever shared.  It is an account of how the proudest can be humbled and the spiritually stubborn can surrender.  God did a powerful thing in his life through the loss of everything cherished.  But when Nebuchadnezzar began focusing on the King in heaven it became his pleasure and delight to tell the story of what God did for him. 

In considering this today I wonder what our story sounds like to others after losing things we cherish.  Is it our pleasure to talk about how God healed our hearts and the wonders that He performed on our behalf?  Or is it our pleasure to point out the things we have lost and the things we still lack?  How many times will God need to remind us of the blessings and graces in which we move and exist?  Our testimonies should be spoken with pleasure and delight.  If we do not share the ways that God has worked in our life then was it all for nothing?  What if the blessings come from our testimonies, but we remain silent?  There are many ways I hope to never resemble this broken man from the past, but there is one.  I want it to be my pleasure to speak of how God healed my broken heart as my family lost its beloved members.  I want it to be my pleasure to speak about my hidden sins that He brought into the open.  I want it to be my pleasure to be transparent enough to share my story of our family’s journey through drug addiction.  I want to delight in my Savior instead of despair in my circumstances. 

May it be our pleasure today and every day to share the ways that God has worked and performed on our behalf in love and faithfulness.