Friday, June 17, 2011

Dominion Challenge

The sound of
fingernails scraping slowly across a chalkboard,
tips of fork tines pushing across a ceramic plate,
packaging tape being ripped from its roll.

The feel of
a cotton ball rubbing between thumb and fingertip,
the sandpapery lick of a cow's tongue,
the ultimate tickle of an electric nose hair trimmer at work.

No big deal?  ...or...
Make a mad dash for the nearest exit
and shiver in excruciating anticipation of a possible recurrence?

It's easy to be strong and courageous
until a seemingly frivolous weak spot
such as one of these
stimulates instant anxiety.

Fleeting moments of desperation,
when power over my own domain
has been briefly but utterly usurped,
are opportunities which demonstrate
the absurdity of my inclination to believe
that I am capable of any control of my being
in the first place.

"Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations,
and men of every language that live in all the earth:
'May your peace abound! 
It has seemed good to me
to declare the signs and wonders
which the Most High God has done for me. 

How great are His signs
and how mighty are His wonders! 
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom
and His dominion
is from generation to generation.'"
~Daniel 4:1-3

The three men
who were cast into the blazing inferno
upon his command
survived unscathed,
nor were their hair and clothing singed,
"...nor had the smell of fire even come upon them..." (3:27)

Nebuchadnezzar's domain vs. the power of the Almighty God.
~black and white~ 

Fleeting moments of desperation,
when power over his own domain
had been briefly but utterly usurped,
was an opportunity which demonstrated
the absurdity of his inclination to believe
that he was capable of any control of his being
in the first place.

It was then
for one brief year of his reign
that the great powerful ruler of the day
acknowledged the Most High God
as ruler over all.

1 comment:

  1. ". . .the great powerful ruler of the day
    acknowledged the Most High God
    as ruler over all."

    the most beautiful thing any of us can do.

    ReplyDelete