ODJ: are we looking?

November 4, 2015 

READ: Daniel 4:1-37 

I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me (v.2).

The film Unbroken is based on the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner, World War II prisoner of war and devout Christian. As the last scene of the film was being filmed, a storm threatened to block the sunlight needed to shoot it. Director Angelina Jolie, impacted by Louis’ faith, did something she had never done before. In front of the whole film crew, the self-proclaimed agnostic dropped to her knees and prayed out loud for a miracle.

Whether divine intervention or not, like a scene out of the Old Testament, the rain stopped, the sun came out and a rainbow appeared in the sky. Then, shortly after the crew had filmed the last scene, the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the rain returned.

The Old Testament book of Daniel records the prayer of a person who wasn’t in the practice of praying. Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon, was a proud leader who refused to acknowledge the sovereign rule of the Creator-God (Daniel 4:30).

To humble him and show him who’s really in charge of the kingdoms of the world, God drove the king away from the comforts of a palace life and gave him the mind and behaviour of a wild animal (vv.32-33). After 7 long years of living in the outdoors and eating grass like a cow, Nebuchadnezzar finally “looked up to heaven”, and God graciously restored his sanity and position (vv.34-37).

Having regained his right mind, the humbled king offered up a prayer to the “Most High”, acknowledging, “His rule is everlasting and his kingdom is eternal” (v.34).

Dramatic events like these don’t happen every day, but both stories remind us that the Creator-God wants to make Himself known to us—sometimes in small and sometimes in big ways. Are we looking?

—Jeff Olson

365-day-plan: Acts 17:16-34