King Nebuchadnezzar's praise and prayer

As part of my devotion this morning I read and meditated on King Nebuchadnezzar's prayer in Daniel 4:34-37. The Bible is replete with examples and stories regarding the SOVEREIGNTY of GOD and these verses provide a powerful illustration.
First let's start with a definition of God's sovereignty:
This means that God plans and carries out His perfect will as He alone knows is best, over all that is in heaven and earth, and He does so without failure or defeat. Sovereignty is a statement about God’s control over all things in His plan and His executing that plan.

Read what King Nebuchadnezzar learned about God in the following verses: Daniel 4:34-37 (NLT)
His rule is everlasting
and His kingdom is eternal
All the people of the earth
are nothing compared to Him
He has to power to do as He pleases
among the angels of heaven
and with those who live on earth
No one can stop Him or challenge Him
saying, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'

Just read these verses and absorb them literally as meaning exactly what they say. Can Americans in the church today handle this kind of definition when it comes to the sovereignty of God? If you ask many people today they will define the sovereignty of God as follows:
God is as sovereign over my life as my free will allows Him to be. That may be our cultural definition but it IS NOT A BIBLICAL DEFINITION!

Observations about the sovereignty of God in Daniel 4:34-37:
1. King Nebuchadnezzar had a rule of a kingdom that was temporal but he recognized that God's kingdom is eternal and His rule of that kingdom is everlasting.

2. If we take all the people on planet earth with our technology, military prowess, medical advancements and social developments put them all together they will come up to nothing as compared with God. In other words, we as human beings don't add to nor subtract from the God of this universe.
Major Ian Thomas has a quote that goes as follows:
Jesus Christ who was never ever less than God came to planet earth to live as One who never ever more than man, but man who is never ever more than just a man struts himself around this planet as one who is never ever less than God!

3. God has the power to do whatever He pleases, however He decides and with whomever He decides. Isn't that exactly what this verse means in the context of what King Nebuchadnezzar is saying? God Himself can kill or save a pagan king if He wants to and that will be according to what pleases Him! Can we handle that truth about God? If God were to send every person that ever lived on planet earth to hell then He would still be a just, holy, and loving God. However should God Himself be pleased to save some and not others then who are we to call Him to account. God can and does whatever He pleases and does not check that out with the American church to see if we agree, support and are on board with that theological truth.
I have been around men who have studied the Bible for years that have not come to the simple understanding of this important principle about God.

4. No one can or should challenge Him as it pertains to His sovereignty. In the NASB translation it says:
And no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
In other words a person or group of persons are not going to stop what God has ordained nor should they question it!
Whoa, let's see if we can get a grip on this truth. Doesn't this sound a bit like the apostle Paul's argument in Romans 9 after he says that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. And then the argument ensues about the justice of God in the election of some to salvation and not others. Finally in Romans 9:20 we read - "On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?"
Brothers and sisters in Christ may we repent of our pride and submit ourselves to this wonderful truth of God who is sovereign over all people and over all things in the heavens and the earth!