Nebuchadnezzar hardened his heart in pride. His son made no application to his own life. How is your heart in light of Hebrews 3:12-13? It says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God…lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

Daniel warned king Nebuchadnezzar to humble his heart. Daniel 4:27. In verse 30 he attributed all strength and greatness to himself. James 4:10 is a clear direction for us. It says, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”

Does your heart stray? Psalm 119:10 says, “With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments.” Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” Lord grant me singleness of heart.

You would think that Nebuchadnezzar’s son would have learned the truth his father learned. He knew about his father eating grass. Yet he had the audacity to bring the gold vessels from God’s house, and use them in his drunken party.

If you remember, the finger of a man’s hand began writing on the wall. Daniel 5:20 says of his father, “When his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.”

Verse 23 says, “…you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” I think my breath always sucks in (involuntarily) when I read this passage. May the Lord’s mercy right now be on those who continually oppose Him.

A hymn, In Times Like These, from my childhood rose into my mind after reading Daniel 4. If you will remember, king Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It came to pass the moment he exalted himself. His kingdom was taken from him. He was driven out into the fields to eat grass like a beast. 

Here are his words. Daniel 4:34, “And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever.”

Verse 35 is eternal truth that rings loud and clear in our times. It says, “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; 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 says to Him, What have You done?”

Saul of Tarsus was so radically converted that folks didn’t recognize him. He immediately preached Christ. Acts 9:21 says, “Then all who heard were amazed, and said, Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

How much does God’s word bring change into your life? I’ve read Psalm 119 many times. I even tried to memorize it when I broke my foot in 2013. However, meditating through it recently has brought course correction several times.

Peter recounted the transfiguration. 2 Peter 1:19 says, “And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” God’s word is light that illuminates the unconverted parts of our hearts.

Psalm 119:72 says, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.” As I started meditating on this verse, a song came to mind. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Chorus: More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold…”

Renewing our mind with Scripture converts our soul: mind, will, emotions. Ephesians 4:23 Amplified says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind (having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude).”

Romans 12:2 J. B. Phillips says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within…” The Amplified says, “…be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude)…” Spiritual metamorphosis ~ inner transformation.

Psalm 119:71 says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.” How futile it is to go through a trial and not learn from it. Our trials are divinely equipped with sufficient grace to endure. They also contain wisdom to help us navigate through, so that we will bear much fruit which glorifies the Lord.

Afflicted in the Hebrew means: be bruised with, oppress, humble, be bowed down, be downcast. Luke 4:18 Amplified says that Jesus came to, “…send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity).”

As the Lord was with the three Hebrew men in the fiery furnace, so He is with us every moment of our hard trials. He is Present to teach us more about Himself, so that we can be partakers of His very nature. We need to daily ask the Lord, “What do You want me to learn today from this trial?”

The Waodani used to be called Aucas. They were savage killers, who grew up hating and killing. They speared to death five missionaries in 1956. Afterwards, Nate Saint’s sister, Rachel, went to live with them. They heard about God’s carvings for the first time and began following God’s trail. You can read about it in End Of The Spear by Steve Saint.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Astray ~ leaving the path of righteousness laid out for us through God’s word.

Psalm 119:67 says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.”  We intentionally keep His word in our heart by resisting any thoughts of doubt, fear, or unbelief. Those fiery darts are strategically aimed at our faith to derail us.

The word ‘keep’ in Hebrews means to observe, heed, and guard. Joshua 1:8 says to observe to do. James 1:22-25 encourages us to be hearers and doers. I checked Psalm 119 to see how many times ‘to keep’ His word was used. 21. Seven is the number of completion times three.

Psalm 119:4 says, “You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently.” All Scripture is given by the inspiration of God according to 2 Timothy 3:16 ~ God-breathed truths. It is only as we observe to do that His truth becomes our experience.

Proverbs 4:23 says to keep our heart with all diligence. Our ‘keeping’ is only successful when we hide His word in our heart and put it into practice. Experiential truth inculcates throughout our thought processes. 1 John 2:6 says, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Living word inside affects the outside.

Years ago the Holy Spirit led me to read the book of Haggai every day for 30 days. It is only two chapters long. The resounding call from chapter one is to consider your ways. For several days I have been meditating on Psalm 119:59-60.

It says, “I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, and did not delay to keep Your commandments.” In Haggai they did not keep God’s commandment to rebuild the Lord’s house, and there were dire consequences.

Have you thought about your ways lately? I did when I first started to meditate on verse 59. What am I doing that the Lord has not called me to do? The psalmist did an immediate course correction. Made haste and did not delay displays a character of diligence ~ being proactive and intentional.

Israel asked for a king. The Lord granted their request. He sent thunder and rain to destroy their wheat harvest, so that they would perceive their wickedness. In 1 Samuel 12:20 Samuel said, “…Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness; yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.”

Verse 21 says, “And do not turn aside; for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing.” We get derailed when we look to man. Psalm 1:1 says, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly…”

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, will help us walk in a straight path. Fixed means that no outside distractions can pull us off course.