the wonder of story & perspective

This is week four in our series on what Scripture teaches us about the value of wonder in our lives and ministries.

​Today's Scripture passage is Daniel 4:3 (NASB).
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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.

In a previous article in this series, we talked about the importance of recognizing God’s wonders. This verse from Daniel starts off in much the same way, but those last two lines are different than other verses we’ve looked at about wonder. They remind us that these amazing wonders are a part of God’s everlasting kingdom which has gone and will continue to go from generation to generation. And we get to be a part of that!

This verse is actually spoken by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon as he is giving credit to God after a very challenging season and time of learning. If you aren’t familiar with the story, I highly encourage you to read all of Daniel chapter 4, but understand that Nebuchadnezzar was greatly humbled before he learned to fully appreciate not just God’s wonders but His sovereignty as well. Like Nebuchadnezzar, pride can often keep us from recognizing God, His wonders, and his dominion in our lives and in the world. If we take time to humble ourselves before God, then maybe He won’t need to humble us like He did the king.

Pride makes us think or act like everything is about us or because of us or for us. Pride makes us think that we’re the main character in the story. When we humble ourselves before God, we remember that He is the main character of the story. We simply get to be a part of one chapter, or one page or maybe just one paragraph of His everlasting story.

But think about that for a moment. We get to be a part of the story of the King of kings, Creator of the Universe, Lord of lords, and Savior. We get to see and experience His wonders. At times we even get to be a part of His wonders. We’re not a part because of our timing or coincidence or just because we accidentally stumbled into His great story. We get to be a part of it because He chose for us to be a part. We get to be a part of it because He loves us. What an amazing perspective!

So what’s your viewpoint today? Are you frustrated with your story and focused on yourself? Or are you wondering over the fact that God loves you and chose you to be a part of His everlasting kingdom story?