It's God: Daniel 2:46-49

God gets the credit.  When His people do His work, His character and His power shine through.  I dearly love all the mentors I’ve had in my life, but it is God’s power and God’s character that drew me to God through them.  They were beautiful tools in the hands of an awesome God.

Upon hearing the dream and interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar recognizes of the greatness of the task.  Nebuchadnezzar says, “Surely your God is the God of Gods and the Lord of kings.”  Nebuchadnezzar understands Daniel’s God can do the impossible.

This is what happens when we step through doors that God opens for us.  God’s name is praised through our actions.  When God sets up the action, God gets the credit.  There are certain things that only God can do.  Only God knows our thoughts.  Only God can influence our dreams.  Only God makes miracles happen.  When we spend our life going through it normally with an eye for doors opened by God, He works through us and He gets the praise.  It’s that simple.

To contrast this, when I go through life looking for doors to open for God, I end up doing things that are possible for me to do.  Since I can do it, I get the praise instead of God.  God doesn’t need us to open doors for Him.  God doesn’t need us trying to convince the world to get into a relationship with Him through events we created.  When that happens, all we end up doing is convincing the world to get into a relationship with us instead.  That’s not helpful.

I remember one day in college.  God woke me around 1 AM and told me to go pray for a friend.  I laid in bed and prayed.  God chastised me and told me I was to go to him.  In my pajamas, I jumped out of bed, put on shoes, and ran to his room.  When I got there, he was sweating in sickness and his roommate was concerned.  Sean, my friend, and I walked across a small stretch of grass into an educational building that was unlocked for study.  We found a room and started praying.  A spiritual battle ensued, ending with a supernatural healing coming from God.  One second Sean was sick, sweating, and mumbling nonsense.  The next second there was a demonic cry, a bright light, the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees, and Sean was in his perfect mind once more. 

Sean never gave me credit.  He thanked me for being there, but we both knew it wasn’t me who healed him.  God healed him.  God opened the door, I stepped into it, and God got the credit.  It was an incredible moment of God’s power in my life.

Similarly, Nebuchadnezzar experiences something only God can do. Nebuchadnezzar thanks Daniel and understandably rewards him by elevating him over an entire province.  Why wouldn’t Nebuchadnezzar want someone like Daniel leading people?  Still, God gets the credit.