The Easy Way or the Hard Way

The Easy Way or the Hard Way
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. —Daniel 4: 37
Nebuchadnezzar was an extremely gifted man—perhaps too gifted. He began to be lifted up with pride. He began to feel that his accomplishments were all the result of his own brilliance. The Bible tells us that, “Pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16: 18). God warned Nebuchadnezzar of the dangerous path he was walking. But Nebuchadnezzar chose to ignore that warning.
**God is so faithful. He always warns us when we head toward dangerous ground.
When God issues a warning, you can learn the lessons He wants you to learn in one of two ways: the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is to heed His warning. The hard way is to continue walking toward trouble. Nebuchadnezzar chose the hard way. He again became prideful, and in that same hour, he went insane. It took seven years for him to recognize God’s sovereignty.
The Lord loves us too much to let us get by with those things that will destroy us. Because we belong to Him, He will always bring the warnings and the lessons we need to keep us from trouble. Whether we learn them the easy way or the hard way is entirely up to us.
Father, we thank You that You love us enough to keep us from folly. Give us a hunger for Your Word, in which we will find all the wisdom we need for life and godliness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.