Answering Nebuchadnezzar

King Nebuchadnezzar made a really bad choice. He looked at his kingdom of Babylon and attributed its might to himself (Dan 4:30). "While the words were still in the king's mouth" (Dan 4:31) God spoke from heaven and told him he'd be eating grass for seven periods of time ... and he did (Dan 4:31-33). When he came out of it, he praised God (Dan 4:34) and issues a challenge.

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and He does according to His will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?" (Dan 4:35)

At last we have an answer for the king. Who can stay His hand? We can. Any one of us. By our own choices. By our lack of faith. By our disobedience. God may will for you to receive something good, but if you don't go along with Him, you can actually "stay His hand" -- stop Him from giving it to you. He may actually will for people to be saved, but we all know that His will is at the mercy of the people He wills to be saved and any one of them can stop Him from doing what He wills.

I know. You don't actually believe that. But when I argue that God is Sovereign, Christians disagree, assuring me that God cannot violate Human Free Will. "No, no," I'm told, "He can, but He chooses not to." Same thing. If God has laid aside actual Sovereignty and taken up co-sovereignty contingent on Human Free Will, how is that not staying His hand?