Day 152: King Neb

Mark 3:20-35; 2 Samuel 7-8; Daniel 4

There are a couple of verses in Mark that talk about Jesus' family. The first says that they heard what he was doing and thought he was crazy. Then they show up while he is teaching, but won't go inside. They send a message to him telling him to come talk to them outside, refusing to meet him where he is. Sometimes the very people we expect or need support from are the ones who question or doubt us. But did his family's lack of faith in him get him down or hinder is purpose? Nope. He used it to teach a lesson and bless others.

In Samuel, David actually makes a pretty good point: he is living in a palace while the ark is in a tent. He thought that it didn't exactly seem right. But God actually got on to him about it. Maybe he knew that building a temple would go to David's head. Maybe he had already planned it out for David's son, maybe David's motives were not pure. Did God need a temple in order to show how awesome he was? Does God need big new churches to show how awesome he is? I'd venture to say no, on both accounts.

God put king Nebuchadnezzar through a time in the wilderness where he had to face the untamed and live off of virtually nothing. Why was he forced to live like a wild animal? So that he could learn to respect and worship God. Hm, I wonder if the same is true for us? That the difficult times, the times when we feel we are in the wilderness are so that we learn to better honor and praise The Lord. Then, when Neb (his name is too long), had this experience, he sent out a letter to all the nations proclaiming what God had done. He was sharing his testimony. He was being honest about his struggles. I'm sure that as one of the strongest kings of that time, to say that he had been living among the birds out in the prairie and eating grass was sort of dishonoring. But he understood the purpose and his temporary shame was worth the understanding of God that he gained. What if we were able to look at our troubles in this way? That each obstacle or dark time was God's way of teaching us more about him so that later we could proclaim truth and help others. That might be tough in the midst of those struggles, but if we trust that God is who he says he is and that he works out all things for the good of those that love him, then our struggles have purpose.