GOD’S HAND IN PERFORMANCE

“...NO ONE CAN RESTRAIN HIS HAND or say to Him, “What have You done?” – Daniel 4:35b

No creature or condition can restrain GOD’S HAND in PERFORMANCE: “He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. NO ONE CAN RESTRAIN HIS HAND or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Dan.4:35b). The feeling that life is spinning or spiralling out of control is a very common feature of living on earth, especially in these days of conflicts, pandemics, depression, and perversions. However, there is a Hand that never loses control over His creation and creatures – Hand of the Almighty! God has got the whole world in His Hand! The heathen king Nebuchadnezzar, discovered this, but not until he had passed through the furnace of humiliation!

Here, the Babylonian ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, recounted how Daniel interpreted a troubling dream that he had: God would judge his pride, drive him out into the wilderness, and drive him mad. Like an animal, he would eat grass and be exposed to the elements for seven years. Twelve months after, God’s word found performance; the king was driven into a beastly existence until he grew long hair and long fingernails (v.33). When finally, the Mercy of God restored him, the king concluded that God’s Hand cannot be challenged, restrained, or stopped!

Prior to his humiliation, Nebuchadnezzar like many so-called “self-made” men and women of pride, had boasted: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (v.30b). After his divine demotion, he became wise enough to ascribe all the Glory to God (v.34). He concluded: GOD is on His Throne, and HIS HAND is in unstoppable Performance!

God is always on His Throne: “For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation” (v.34b). There is never a time when God was not on His throne; and there never will be a time when He’ll be absent from His throne. The Creator of the Universe is the same God Who reigned over Israel, who redeemed His Church, and is ruling and reigning in our lives now. There are no tenures or “term limits” with God! In the best of times, in the worst of times, God is on His Throne. When things seem out of control God is on His Throne. In this world of quicksand and shifting shadows, it’s comforting to know that God's reign as King is an unchanging constant!

God rules over All from His Throne (v.35a). The Unquestionable Dominion of the God of Israel rebuked, removed, refined, and restored the heathen king. There is no person, nation, army, movement, tribe, or clan; no angel or demon that is not under His Dominion as the King of Heaven and Governor of the Universe! Not only is the extent of His reign limitless, the nature of His reign is absolute. God is no ‘lame duck’ leader or figurehead, like many earthly monarchs. He accomplishes His Will perfectly from His Throne. God works all things according to the counsel of His Will (Pro.16: 1, 4, 9, 33; Isa.46: 8-10; Dan.2:21; Eph.1:11). God does as He pleases and His Will can never be frustrated!

God cannot be challenged or faulted on His Throne (v.35b). Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful man on earth at this time in human history, could not, by any army or decree, stop, derail, rewrite, or overrule the Will of God! “But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases” (Psa.115:3). All His works are “truth” – right and His ways are just (v.37). He is the Unquestionable God with an Unstoppable Hand!

However, God’s Hand not only performs to judge, it performs to promote: “I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place” (Jer.29:10b). Romans 4:20-21 says about Abraham: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also ABLE to PERFORM.”