On July 2, 1505, Martin Luther was thunderstruck after an encounter with a violent thunderstorm, resulting in his decision to become a monk. He was returning from his family home to Erfurt, where he was studying law, when he was caught in a storm and was nearly struck by lightning. He vowed to become a monk if his life was spared, and kept that promise by entering St. Augustine’s Monastery in Erfurt. In Stotterheim, where the lightning strike occurred, a simple granite Luther Stone commemorates the event.
“Words from Above” in the Bible tell us about a traumatic experience that changed the life of a Babylonian king named Nebuchadnezzar. As he walked into the palace of his kingdom one day, he asked a question, “is not this the great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” As the words fell from his mouth, he heard a voice from heaven, “O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, The kingdom is departed from you. They shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and fives it to whomsoever he will.”
The prediction made by the voice from heaven was fulfilled that very hour when he was driven from men, eating grass as oxen and having his body made wet by the dew of heaven, having his hair grow like eagles’ feathers and his nails as bird claws. All of this obviously got his attention, and at the end of seven years, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and his former understanding returned to him, He began to bless the Most High God as the One who lived forever and whose dominion is everlasting and His kingdom extending from generation to generation.
He declared that all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing and He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. He said that no one could stop His hand or successfully question what He was doing. He gave praise, honor and glory to the King of heaven and acknowledged that His works and judgments were works of truth. He further acknowledged that He was able to debase those who walked in pride, which obviously included him, and likewise it includes all people today. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
Larry R. Steffee is pastor of Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville. Everyone is invited to attend. For more information, you may email him at lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.
