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.