Have you ever found yourself in a pit? A time when you felt stuck, abandoned, or helpless? Sometimes we go through seasons where life comes at us HARD. Maybe it’s an injury or illness that has us bedridden or hobbled. Maybe it’s a loss that has covered us in a pit of grief. Maybe we’ve taken a financial hit that makes every single bill feel overwhelming and out of reach. Maybe it’s a season of depression where the world feels dark and cold. Or maybe it’s a spiritual pit where God feels a million miles away.
I realized while I was reading about Daniel that his story is a lot like ours. Hard times, difficult people, and little to no control over what was going on. Just like us. Oh, except that Daniel had lions down in his pit. At least we don’t have to deal with that, right? Wrong. We have a lion, too.
1 Peter 5:8 says, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” Whenever we fall into a “pit,” the devil tries to devour us. He tries to consume us with despair. He tries to paralyze us with fear. He tries to swallow us in depression. He tries to eat away at us with doubt and confusion. He attacks our self-worth. He claws away at our faith. He tries to make us believe that we are helpless and hopeless, with no way out. My guess is that most of us have heard him roar from time to time.
But just like Daniel, we are not in our pit alone. God is with us. Today, if you’re in a pit with the Enemy snarling away at you, turn to the Lord. Claim the promises of God until your shouts of hope drown out his growls of despair. Turn on your worship music and let your praise of God hurt his ears until his roaring turns into whimpering. Take time today to remember how the Lord has delivered you before, time and time again, until the Lion of Hell has to back away in awe. If you’re going to come out of your pit victoriously, you need God to do for you what He did for Daniel. You need Him to shut that lion’s mouth. After that, he’s nothing but an oversized pussycat. Listen very carefully. The Enemy has no power in your pit other than what you give him. Cling to the Lord and declare His Power and Glory. And the angels will shut that lion’s mouth. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Poor Darius. He painted himself into a corner that he couldn’t get out of. The law he signed was irrevocable. For all of his power, he was helpless. For all of his riches, he couldn’t buy his way out. He spent an entire day looking for a loophole, searching for an answer, but in the end he had to do the only thing he could do: He put Daniel in the Hands of God. He had no idea that’s where Daniel already was!
All of us have been where Darius was at one time or another. Someone we care deeply about is going through a painful or hard time, and we’re helpless to do anything about it. For those of us with control issues, this is especially maddening. We’re used to finding solutions. We’re used to making things happen. We’re used to stepping in and changing minds, impacting circumstances, and bailing people out. Then comes the day when we just can’t do it. It’s beyond our reach. It’s outside of our control. It’s something we can’t do anything about. And the feeling of helplessness is suffocating. But we’re really not helpless. We can do what Darius did. We can put them in the Hands of God.
Go back to the story for a moment. God was in the picture long before Darius was. It was God who brought Daniel safely to Babylon. It was God who gave him favor with Nebuchadnezzar. It was God who gave him favor with Belshazzar. And it was God who gave Daniel favor with Darius. Daniel wasn’t in the position he was in because of the good grace of Darius. He was there because of the Great Grace of God. God would see Daniel through. Darius liked Daniel an awful lot. But God LOVED Daniel more than anyone would ever know.
Keep that in mind this week. When your spouse, or your child, or a friend near and dear to your heart, finds themselves in a predicament that you can’t help with, let go and let God. He’s already there. He’s already involved. He can do what you can’t and may even have a plan of which you are not aware. I’m not going to tell you that their situation is going to play out the way you want it to, but I am going to tell you that in the Hands of God is the BEST place they can be. Though I know you care about them deeply, don’t forget. God loves them more than you can ever imagine. Put them in the Hands of God. That’s God’s Word for you today.

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NLT)

The story of Daniel in the lion’s den is one of the most famous stories in the Bible. The conniving officials trick the king into signing an order that he can’t rescind. The order is that for 30 days, no one can worship anyone but the king himself. Though the officials presented it as a way to honor the king, it wasn’t. It was a way to have Daniel executed. The king really liked Daniel and would have never agreed to it if he had known what they were up to. Now he was stuck.
But Daniel wasn’t afraid. Nor was he willing to back off of his commitment to worshipping the One True God. So when he went to his times of prayer, the officials told the king and made the king stay true to his decree. Daniel was going to be fed to the lions. But here’s what I don’t want you to miss. Our passage tells us that Daniel went “as usual” to his upstairs room to pray. “He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done.” The officials knew they could catch him because they knew his routine. What they DIDN’T KNOW was that his “routine” was the secret to his incredible faith in God!
When you walk with God in the day, you don’t have to be afraid in the dark. Daniel trusted God because Daniel KNEW God. He drew near to God frequently, so he felt God near constantly. When his time of testing came, Daniel was well prepared. Like his three friends who got thrown into the furnace, Daniel didn’t know what his earthly outcome would be. But of this he was sure: The Lord would never leave him or forsake him. Whatever might happen, Daniel rested in the abiding presence of God. His life was a daily preparation of faith, so when it came time to TEST that faith, Daniel was ready. Will YOU be?
Many of us don’t hit our knees with passion and brokenness until our time of testing comes. So we’re unprepared. Our time with God has been little, so our faith is small. Listen very carefully to this: It is the consistency of our “usual” times with God that prepares us for the unusual crises of life. In a moment when the faith of others would have failed, Daniel’s faith stood strong.
Let’s not wait until the crisis comes to become strong in our faith in the Lord. Let’s make being with God an “as usual” trait so we’ll be ready for those unusual moments life brings. “Last-minute faith” is a slippery rope to hang onto. Let’s develop some “as usual” faith starting TODAY! That’s God’s Word for you today. (For those of you who might be interested, I’m preaching on Deep Faith tomorrow. Feel free to join us at shartelchurch.org. Love you guys!)

Isn’t it interesting how jealousy taints the way we look at people? There’s something about our carnal nature that finds it hard to rejoice when things are going well for someone, or when God seems to be blessing them in some unique or special way. It’s almost as if we have this “why them and not me” mentality. If someone gets a promotion, it’s because they “sucked up to the boss.” If someone gets an award, it’s because they “know someone.” If God blesses a church and it grows, it’s because “they don’t really preach the gospel.” I’m sure you’ve heard a thousand others.
Jealousy came on the scene early in our human story. Cain was jealous of his brother Abel and killed him because Abel was honored by God. It’s been with us ever since. Daniel is just one more prime example of how dangerous jealousy can be. The king saw how good Daniel was at his job, so he promoted him to the highest position in the land. That made the other officials jealous, so they decided to plot against Daniel. Rather than celebrate what God was doing and be happy for Daniel, they planned a way to have him executed. It was Cain and Abel all over again.
Jealousy kills. It kills our hearts. It turns kind people into mean people. It turns compassionate people into hateful people. It turns godly people into evil people. Jealousy kills our ability to celebrate others. Instead of “rejoicing with those who rejoice,” as Paul teaches us, we resent them. Not even realizing that when we curse something that God is blessing, we’re actually cursing GOD! Jealousy also kills our ability to be happy about what God IS DOING in our lives and the blessings He’s giving to US. Comparing ourselves to people who we feel have “more” robs us of being able to be grateful for what we DO have. Like a cancer, the longer we hold onto jealousy, the more of our lives it will destroy. Let’s stop it before it spreads.
“Lord, help us let go of our jealousy. Give us the maturity and personal security within ourselves to be able to celebrate the wins and gains of others as much as we do our own. Remind us that you have already blessed us far beyond what we will ever deserve and fill us to overflowing with gratitude. Kill the jealousy within us, Father, before the jealousy kills US. This we pray in your Holy Name, Amen.” That’s God’s Word for you today.

How do you handle it when life bounces you around like a ping-pong ball? We get tossed up and down and in and out—it’s enough to make anyone crazy. Daniel simply took it in stride. He couldn’t control what was going on around him, so he simply controlled what he could: his response to it all.
There were a couple of things about Daniel that caught my attention. One is how he didn’t whine and complain to God about the changes or inconveniences he was put through. He leaned into God for strength and adapted to each new circumstance. The other thing that hit me was that Daniel didn’t embrace each new role with disgust or resentment. Neither did he try to see how easily he could get by when he got put in his new positions. Listen very carefully to this. He engaged each new man-given role as if it had come from God and did it with whole-hearted excellence. That mentality and character positioned him for God to bless him.
When Darius took over, he chose supervisors to be over the 120 provinces, and then put Daniel and two others to be the administrators over those 120 supervisors. Did Daniel see his new job as an opportunity to kick back and take it easy? Nope. He embraced it with EXCELLENCE. Look at what the passage says: “Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.”
Wholehearted faithfulness is a character trait God can bless. We may not like the cards we’re dealt, but WE get to decide the attitude and effort with which we play them. In Matthew 25, Jesus said, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of more.” In Colossians 3:23, Paul said, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as unto the Lord and not for men.” Like Daniel, we don’t always have control over where we end up. But we DO have control over our attitudes and efforts. Let’s embrace every opportunity as a gift from God and, like Daniel, embrace it with a faithfulness of excellence. Let’s be winners and not whiners. Maybe then God can bless us as He wants to. That’s God’s Word for you today.

On February 3, 2008, the New England Patriots played the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. New England was unbeaten coming into the game. They were the first team to go undefeated in the regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins. It was considered a David vs. Goliath event, with the Patriots considered an “easy” 12-point favorite. Many expected it to be much worse. You can imagine everyone’s shock when the Giants won 17-14. Especially the bookmakers in Las Vegas who lost a record 2.1 million dollars on that single game!
No team is invincible. No person is unbeatable. If history has taught us anything, it’s that anyone can be beat at the right time and under the right conditions. Believing we’re invincible is actually what sets us up for failure. Sports teams often won’t prepare hard for games they believe to be a “cinch.” Arrogance leads to carelessness, carelessness leads to mistakes, and mistakes lead to defeat.
Belshazzar made this discovery. As king of one of the greatest kingdoms on earth, he believed he was invincible. He had defeated every foe that had stood before him, so he now rested upon those victories. Who would dare to attack him now? Well, the Medes and Persians, that’s who! And that very night Belshazzar was killed, and Darius the Mede took over his kingdom.
Paul made a great statement when he said, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” In other words, when I keep in mind that I am always vulnerable, always beatable, and always fallible, I keep a closer watch on my life. I seek wisdom from God’s Word rather than make decisions out of my own wisdom. I lean into God’s Spirit in prayer and depend upon his Spirit to get me through the day. I seek God daily to show me any weaknesses and to help me close the door on any vulnerable places in my life. When I think I’m invincible, I put at risk all that I am and all that I stand for. It’s knowing I’m not that keeps me close to the Lord and under His watch and protection. Our Jesus IS unbeatable, so let’s bet on Him and not on ourselves! That’s God’s Word for you today.

If you’re like me, you don’t like to weigh yourself. It seems in my older years that no matter how hard I try, I still weigh more than I want. Wouldn’t you just love to go to the doctor sometime and hear him say, “You know, you could stand to eat a few more big steaks and hot fudge sundaes.” Now THAT’S a doctor’s advice I’d love to follow!
That’s kind of what happened to the king in our passage today. When Belshazzar was put on God’s scales, Daniel told him that he didn’t weigh enough. But it wasn’t the king’s body that Daniel was talking about. It was the king’s LIFE! Even though the king had everything a man could ever want, his life didn’t have the things that are truly “weighty” or of value in the Kingdom of God.
He didn’t possess humility, which is precious and weighty to God. In fact, Belshazzar was so full of pride that he treated the precious items that had been stolen from the Temple with contempt and arrogance. He had no godliness, the substance that gives our lives the most weight and value. He had houses and lands. He had clothes and jewelry. He had silver and gold. He had everything people of this world think they want. But in the final analysis, which is upon the scales of God, he had little to nothing at all. His life didn’t measure up.
Great food for thought, isn’t it? If you were to step onto the scales of God today, how much would YOU weigh? Would there be enough humility and godliness to give your life “weight”? Do you possess some of those other qualities like love, compassion, integrity, and selflessness that are weighty and precious to the Lord? It’s so easy to get caught up in chasing all the things Belshazzar did. They are the things the world holds dear. One day, when we step on the scales of God, may our lives tip the scales with the things God values the most! That’s God’s Word for you today.

The first words written on the wall for Belshazzar were “mene, mene.” The word “mene” means “numbered.” Like many kings, Belshazzar lived under the illusion that his kingdom would last forever. It wouldn’t. Or if he had the good sense to know it wouldn’t last forever, he probably at least imagined it lasting for a long, long time. It wouldn’t. In fact, his kingdom was coming to an end THAT NIGHT. Belshazzar’s days were numbered. And that “number” was a lot smaller than he thought!
It’s usually that way for most of us. I met with a man and his daughters just one week ago to talk about his wishes for his funeral one day. His health has been up and down the last few years, and they wanted to have things ready. I gave them a form to fill out so they could list everything they wanted for his final service. We talked, laughed, and then prayed together. He was quite alert and active, and as I left, I thought, “Well, it’ll be at least a few months before I’m doing his funeral.” He died last night—one week to the day after we met.
Psalm 90:12 is a prayer that says, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” Great prayer. In other words, let us live in such a way that when it comes time to die, all we have left to do is DIE. Belshazzar wasn’t ready when his “number” came up. Will WE be? None of us know what our “number” is. We may have years. We may have just a week. For some of us, it may be TONIGHT. Are we ready?
Let me give you a few challenges. Get right with God. Do it today so that when your number is called, you’ll hear Him say, “Welcome home!” Make things right with those you care about. Say “I’m sorry” to those who need to hear it. Say “I love you” to those you want to know it. Stop the pettiness and the silly arguments that create distance between us. And can I say one last thing as a pastor? Get your funeral plans together. Don’t make those you love have to plan a service while they're grieving and taking care of a thousand other details. Love them enough to just let them follow the script that you have prepared. Trust me, it’ll be one of the greatest gifts you will have given them. Oh yes, and do it this week. Because you never know when your number is up! That’s God’s Word for you today.

“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:7 (NLT)

A couple of days ago, as I was driving home from work, I saw a driver do something really stupid. We were on a four-lane street, and he was in the left lane. The speed limit on this busy street is 50, and we were all cruising along at about 45-48 miles per hour. Evidently, that wasn’t fast enough for this guy. He crossed the double-yellow line with traffic coming at him and passed the guy in front of him. I thought for sure I was about to see a head-on collision. I shook my head in disbelief.
What is with our tendency to do things that are really dumb, even when we know better? Do we think the laws of life and God don’t apply to us, or are we so full of ourselves that we think we will always beat the odds? We swim out into the water on beaches even when signs are posted that there are dangerous rip currents present. We put cigarettes in our mouths after taking them out of packages that clearly state they cause cancer. We watch horrible films in driver’s ed of the aftermath of accidents where people drank and drove, but then we drink and drive anyway. We make decisions to do things that we have personally witnessed cause the destruction of other people’s lives.
The story of Belshazzar is a great example of this tendency. As Daniel begins to interpret the handwriting on the wall, he reminds the king of what happened to the king before him, who allowed himself to get caught up in his pride. Then he makes this haunting statement to the king: “And you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself.” Let the full weight of this sink in. “And you KNEW all this.” Daniel was saying, “This wasn’t just sinful. This was downright FOOLISH.”
Reading this today was painful, because I know in my own life I have done the very same thing. Pride is a powerful draw. My prayer today is that God will not only help me to be obedient, but that He will also help me to be WISE. May God help us learn from our mistakes. May God help us learn from the mistakes of OTHERS! We will all make mistakes out of ignorance from time to time. But may God give us the strength and humility not to make mistakes when we know better. Let’s break the curse of foolishness. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Daniel was old by the time this incident happened with Belshazzar. Probably around 81. That’s most likely why he wasn’t with the group of royal “wise men” who couldn’t figure out the handwriting on the wall. But the queen remembered Daniel. She knew how he had been able to discern Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams when no one else could. He wasn’t like the brash, wanting-to-be-noticed wise guys who only pretended to have insight. In fact, I LOVE the way she described him. “There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods.”
When I read this, there were two thoughts that hit me. One was, “Who do WE look to when we need deep insight and wisdom?” I mean, when there’s truly a lot at stake, and we need to get it right, what kind of person do WE seek out? Sometimes we seek out friends who don’t have any more wisdom than we do. Or sometimes we ask AI, which can give us information, but not WISDOM. Listen very carefully to this. Godly counsel can only come from godly people. When the stakes are high, you need to hear from the Spirit of God. That comes from the Word of God and those individuals who have the Spirit of God within them.
Another thought that hit me was one I think we all ought to ask ourselves. “Would they have come looking for ME?” If people were trying to think of individuals who they believe possess the Spirit of God, would they think of us? Do we live in a way that demonstrates the wisdom of God? Do our lives reflect the presence and peace of God? Are we more like Daniel, whom people felt was truly godly? Or are we more like the religious men of the king’s court who put on a good show, but don’t come across as possessing the Spirit of God? I think I’ll sit with that question for the rest of the day and let God speak to me about that. You might want to do the same. That’s God’s Word for you today.

If you ever wondered where the phrase “the handwriting is on the wall” is from, today’s passage is it. Evidently, Nebuchadnezzar’s time spent as a wild animal wasn’t enough proof to King Belshazzar that pride was a dangerous thing. Somehow, Belshazzar believed it would never happen to him. But it did.
When I read this passage today, I wondered how many times God had tried to get Belshazzar’s attention, but never could. Were there close friends who tried to point it out? Were there times in the past when his pride cost him, but he refused to admit it? Did his wife or wives ever try to lovingly talk to him about it? Maybe. But you have to be careful talking to a king about their flaws; he might take off your head!
I laughed out loud when I thought about that, because those are the same words I’ve heard people use when they tried to talk to their friend or spouse about something in their life they needed to change. “I thought they were going to tear my head off!” Most of us, even those of us who are Christ followers, aren’t always open to correction. Maybe like the king, it’s our pride. We have an anger issue that makes people around us to walk on eggshells. Or we have a negative attitude that causes us to be “doom and gloom” about everything. Maybe we’ve become lazy. Maybe we’ve gotten careless with our language. Maybe we make promises but often don’t follow through. You can fill in the blank for your own blind spot.
What’s sad is that we often don’t see the clues or hear the hints until things start to get really sour. Our spouse calls us into one of those “we need to talk” conversations. Our friends are suddenly always too busy to get together. Our boss sends us an email saying they need to see us in their office. Or worse, in the HR office! Our spiritual mentor asks us to coffee and says, “Are you okay?” That’s the “handwriting on the wall.” Trust me, God’s been trying to get our attention long before that.
Our passage today reminded me of how important it is to live with an open heart to God’s Spirit and an open mind to His correction. None of us are without flaw, and we are each susceptible to drifting off course from time to time. And God, in His great love for us, often uses gentle ways to try and guide us back. When that doesn’t work, the handwriting on the wall appears. Let’s make our prayer today, “Speak, O Lord, and let me hear. Show me and let me see. Let my life be easily guided by your gentle touch.” Maybe then God can keep His pen in His pocket. That’s God’s Word for you today.

While I was a pastor in PA, someone broke into our church one night and stole some of our equipment. When the detective came out to see the damage and write the report, he made an interesting comment. He said, “You know, it’s a shame. There was a time in our community when churches would leave their doors unlocked in case someone needed a place to come and pray. People have no regard for the sacred anymore.”
The detective was right—except for the fact that a disregard for the sacred is nothing new. Our passage is on the last night of Belshazzar’s rule, which was in 539 BC. That’s 2500 years ago. Mocking God and the things that have been dedicated to Him has been around for a long time. Pride, a sense of entitlement, greed, lust for power—all of these are things that tend to cause us to not treat the things of God with the respect we should. And it’s not just the people who are “far from God” that do this. Let me give you a few more modern examples.
I travel and speak a good bit. I’m always a bit amazed at how easily people feel the freedom to speak disrespectfully about their pastors and leaders who are serving the church. I’m certainly not saying that pastors and leaders are beyond questioning or that they are always right. But I do think we ought to be careful about how we speak to them and about them. The same is true of how we as pastors and church leaders speak about and treat volunteers. ALL of God’s people in His service are deserving of respect as His sacred vessels.
We often treat our sacred assignments with disrespect. When we come to our classes or the pulpit unprepared, what are we saying to God about our God-given opportunities? They don’t matter? When musicians don’t practice, when greeters show up late, when people on the soundboard play around and don’t pay attention, it’s treating things that are sacred with disregard. Does this make sense? Let’s honor the things of God. People who are dedicated to Him. Places that are dedicated to Him. Positions and opportunities that are dedicated to Him. God’s “stuff” is God’s, not ours. Let’s make sure we treat it as such. That’s God’s Word for you today.

In recovery, there is a term we use called “stinking thinking.” The clinical term is “insanity.” Not necessarily insane in the sense that I believe I’m being chased by flying monkeys. But insane in the sense that my thinking is not based in truth and that it is leading me to destructive choices and behavior. And it’s more than just negative thinking.
For some, the insanity is the belief that our addiction is going to make us happy. It doesn’t, of course. It simply consumes and destroys everything precious to us. For others, the insanity is that we have our addiction under control. Which is nothing more than a comforting lie that we tell ourselves. The insane thinking for us addicts goes down many different trails. All of them are eventually dead ends.
The insanity for Nebuchadnezzar was believing HE was a god. He believed HE was responsible for his victory over God’s people and that his kingdom and success were all due to HIS greatness. Living out in the wild for seven years like an animal cured him of that illusion.
What hit me as I read Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration is that it’s exactly what I discovered in my own life. My “stinking thinking” has led me to many insane paths, which I’ve needed God to save me from. One part of that insanity was my selfishness. I developed this insane thinking about what I “needed” and what I “deserved.” Being self-consumed leads you to self-exaltation. I was thinking mainly of ME and not as much about those I said I “loved.” When God opened my eyes, He broke my heart. I was humiliated and mortified at who I had become. I repented, and my sanity returned. It still hurts to think about it.
The journey God has taken me on has made me realize that many of the problems in our lives, especially with others, aren’t about being “good” or “bad.” They are about being insane. Stinking thinking about ourselves or others leads us to toxic behavior and all kinds of relational problems. Stinking thinking about God leads us to a dysfunctional relationship with Him, His plans for us, and our ability to have faith in Him. Many of us, maybe even ALL of us, could vastly improve our lives if we thought rightly about God, ourselves, and others. So let me ask you a very personal, but profoundly important question. Are YOU insane? Your whole world can be different if you simply allow God to heal your mind. Paul said it this way in Romans 12:2: “Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” Let’s lose the stinking thinking and, like Nebuchadnezzar, reclaim our honor before God and others. That’s God’s Word for you today.

I’m always amazed at the miracle of transformation. Aren’t you? We come to God as a “royal mess,” and by His Grace, He makes us His “Royal Messengers.” Alcoholics and drug addicts living clean and sober lives and helping other addicts find their way back to God. Lousy dads and husbands who think only of themselves, becoming men of God who adore their wives and invest in their children. Gang members who give up life on the street and become part of a community of faith, giving and healing rather than hurting and stealing. People filled with anger and hate who let go of all that and become loving and forgiving. The transformation list goes on and on.
Our passage today shows God’s miracle of transformation once again. Nebuchadnezzar was a king who was filled with pride. And even though Daniel warned him that his pride would be his downfall, the king refused to let it go. Until finally, Daniel’s prophecy became reality. The king lost his mind and lived like an animal. For seven long years. Then, in a scene that reminds us of the Prodigal Son, he changes. “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.” That’s what you call TRANSFORMATION.
Hear my heart today. You can change. If your life is a mess, it doesn’t have to be the end. It could be the start of a brand-new beginning. The God whose grace is great enough to cover the drug addict, the murderer, the prostitute, and the prideful king is great enough to cover you. There’s no sin too big and no amount of sin too many that God is not willing to forgive. There is no life so lost that it cannot be found. All we have to do is, like the Prodigal Son and King Nebuchadnezzar, let go of our insanity, turn our faces toward heaven, and cry out to Almighty God. If we’ll do that, God will do more than just forgive us. He’ll change us. From living like animals in the field to living as Children of The King. A second chance, a brand-new life, and living a whole new way. That’s the miracle of transformation. That’s God’s Word for you today.

We often think of grace as the forgiveness God gives to us when we sin. It is undeserved and unearned. It is A Gift. And while that’s true, I think we often forget that there is grace that God gives that isn’t after the sin. It’s before. It’s the wisdom and the warnings God gives to us before we ever need forgiveness. I call them “whispers of grace.”
Daniel is delivering one of those “whispers of grace” to Nebuchadnezzar in our passage today. The king has had another dream. It’s another disturbing dream that the king knows has meaning. But he doesn’t know what the meaning is. So he calls upon Daniel to explain it to him, just as he had done with the previous dream.
Daniel doesn’t want to deliver the meaning of this dream. But at the king’s urging, he does. It’s a dream of warning. It’s a dream telling the king he’s forgetting God and drifting into pride and self-centeredness. Daniel tells the king that if he continues on this track, he’s going to lose his throne for seven years and live like an insane person out among the animals of the fields. The king heeds it for a while but then falls right back into his prideful ways. Then the dream becomes fulfilled. For seven years the king lived like an animal.
When I read our passage today, I thought about how many times God gives “whispers of grace” to us all. He didn’t want the king to live like an animal, just as the Lord doesn’t want us to suffer the consequences of destructive choices we are making. Sometimes those whispers of grace come from the warnings of friends and family who love us. They tell us our path is going to cost us dearly if we don’t turn around. It may be hard to believe that God uses people who annoy us to warn us, but He does. Sometimes those whispers of grace come from our own time in the scriptures. I’ll bet there are at least a few of us who have read a passage on a particular day, and we know it directly applies to us. It’s God speaking, whether we heed it or not. Sometimes whispers of grace come through a nudge or discomfort in our spirit. Sometimes they come through the lyrics in a song. And sometimes, like Nebuchadnezzar, God gives them to us in a dream.
God loves you. Just like He loved the king. And God speaks to us—probably in more ways than we are even aware of. When He speaks, please listen. He’s not trying to scold you, shame you, or hurt you. He’s trying to help you and protect you. Mostly from yourself. Don’t blow God off as Nebuchadnezzar did. Hear and heed His whispers of grace. Or you too may end up face down in the grass. That’s God’s Word for you today.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t fight the fire. They trusted God and allowed themselves to be thrown in. And God was with them. But God only used the fire to show who HE was. He used the fire to validate the Hebrews’ faith and exalt them to an even higher level of honor in Babylon. Isn’t that CRAZY? What the Enemy meant to destroy them, God used to make them stronger than ever! THAT’S the refining fire of God!
This is such an important lesson for all of us. By nature, we are pain-resistant. We don’t like to struggle. We don’t like to suffer. In fact, we don’t even want to be mildly uncomfortable. That’s why we miss much of the work that God is trying to do in our lives. When trouble comes, we spend so much of our prayer time asking God to remove the fire we’re facing, or find a way out or around it, that we fail to realize God often wants to take us THROUGH it!
Some muscles of faith can only be learned going through the fire. There are important character traits that can only be obtained through endurance and perseverance. There are qualities, such as empathy, humility, and dependence on God, that can only be developed in the fires of difficulty, hardship, and struggle.
Paul said it this way in Romans 5:3-4: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient. And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady.” (TLB) If you’re in the fire today, take heart. God’s not punishing you. He’s refining you. He’s making you into more of the man or woman of God you desire to be. It’s like your personal trainer tells you, “No pain, no gain.” Now let’s flex those muscles of faith! That’s God’s Word for you today.

I have a booklet of poems and prose that were written by a woman who was in our church in Phoenix. Let me share a few verses from one of them: “Lord, Your love is the joy that springs in my quiet thought, the Silent Voice my heart understands…the healing touch of Your Word shaping my soul. Your love is the strength I receive in Your holy embrace…my crown of gold. Your love draws my shyness to boldness and settles my heart within its place—within the warmth and safety of Your hand, that I may sing to You my song of praise!”
The incredible thing about this woman was not just the beautiful words she wrote or feelings she captured. It was that she wrote all of this while her body suffered greatly from a variety of illnesses and diseases. Everyone who knew her was in awe of her testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness. She didn’t whine, complain, or say, “Why me?” even though she had every reason to. Her faith and rest in God humbled me. You could see Him EVERYWHERE in her life.
When the king gave way to his rage and threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace of fire, I’m sure he expected begging, pleading, crying, and screaming. He didn’t get any of that. As he watched, he saw something strange, something unexpected, something unlike anything he’d ever witnessed before. He saw a Fourth Man in the fire. He saw the visual presence of God. And it took his breath away.
What do people see when YOU are in the fire? When you go through those painful life circumstances, does your faith reflect the brilliance of the presence of God? Remember, it’s in times of darkness that our faith has the chance to shine brightest. Let’s live as my friend in Phoenix did. Let’s be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When WE go into the fire, let’s show them God! That’s God’s Word for you today.

Sometimes, to realize how good you’ve got it, you have to compare yourself with people who have it worse. You know what I mean? Some of us feel like we’re poor. That is, until we meet people who are living in cardboard boxes and find their meals in dumpsters. Sometimes we feel sorry for ourselves because we have all these aches and pains. Then we see people who are permanently disabled or live with chronic pain, and we recognize our lives aren’t so bad after all. Sometimes we think the sky is falling when laws are passed that don’t coincide with our Christian faith, or things are allowed that we believe to be unacceptable. Then we hear about places where the Christian faith is outlawed altogether, and we remember how blessed we truly are.
Recently I prayed for a couple who are going to minister in a place where Christianity isn’t embraced. A place where you have to be careful about what you say and who you say it to. A place where doing or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time could get you beaten up, kicked out of the country, or killed. 99% of us will never know persecution like that. We complain if the church doesn’t serve the kind of coffee that we like. Let’s face it, gang. We’re spoiled.
That’s what hit me when I read our passage today. The three Hebrews didn’t do anything other than politely refuse to bow down to some man-made statue. They didn’t mock anyone, hit anyone, or hurt anyone. They didn’t even condemn or judge the king who told them to do it. They simply humbly said, “No, we can’t do that.” And for that heinous crime, they were thrown into a furnace of fire.
Let me just say this out loud. We’re BLESSED. No, I don’t agree with everything our government does. Yes, there are things that are allowed that violate what I believe the Bible teaches and things I’m pretty sure break the heart of God. But I still worship God openly, freely, and without fear. I can share my faith, invite someone to church, or testify about what God’s done in my life without wondering whether I’m going to be arrested or hurt. On my WORST days, I don’t wonder if I’m going to lose my life for following the Lord. Let’s be honest, folks. Most of us have no idea what it’s like to truly suffer for Jesus. We are SO blessed. That’s God’s Word for you today.

Here’s a question that I want you to spend a little bit of time with: Is your faith in God or in what God does? In other words, do you place your confidence in the character of God and the sovereignty of God, or does your faith hinge on God’s actions—whether or not He does what you want or hope He will do? If you can answer that question honestly, I can pretty much tell you what your walk of faith is like.
You see, people who place their faith in God don’t vacillate a whole lot in terms of their relationship with God. It’s not that they don’t have high moments and low moments; they do. But those highs and lows don’t change what they BELIEVE about God. People whose faith is dependent on how God acts and responds have a very schizophrenic walk with God. When God answers their prayers the way they want, they declare that God is SO good and their faith in Him is strong. But when God doesn’t answer, or says “No” to their prayers, their faith falls apart. They think God doesn’t love them. They think God doesn’t care. They might even start wondering if God is real.
The three Hebrews in our passage today show us what faith in God looks like. It’s found in that short but extremely powerful phrase, “But even if he doesn’t.” They believed with all their hearts that God could deliver them from the king. But their belief in God didn’t hinge on whether or not God would. They trusted God’s heart, God’s character, and God’s sovereignty. Regardless of what happened to them, they believed God alone held their destiny. They trusted HIM. Their faith was not tied to what happened to THEM.
This is a great passage for us to reflect on today. My guess is that some of us have been up and down in our walk with God because we’ve made that horrible discovery that we can’t control God. God is in charge, so we don’t get to determine what He does or doesn’t do. Faith in Him believes that God is good even if life isn’t good. Faith in Him is accepting His Will even when it’s not our will. Faith in Him rests in the truth that God holds us in His Hand even if He allows us to die. If you put your faith in what God does, you’ll be like a yo-yo, constantly sliding up and down. If you put your faith in God, you’ll be strong and steady, no matter what life throws your way. So put the needs of your life in God’s Hands and let Him know you believe He can do ANYTHING. Now lift your hands toward heaven and declare these words of faith, “But even if he doesn’t.” That’s God’s Word for you today.

When I was in college, I worked for a while in sales for a company with a boss who was a bit shady. He would remind you of one of those motivational seminar guys who told stories that you knew couldn’t possibly be true, but you smiled and nodded anyway. One day we were in a sales meeting where he was trying to convince us that we were all going to be millionaires one day. As he gave his speech, one of my friends, who was kind of our boss’ second-in-command, came in and told our boss there was a man there to see him. Our boss looked annoyed, and it was clear that the guy was someone he didn’t want to talk to. So he told my friend, “Just tell him I’m not here!” My friend shook his head and said, “No. I’m not going to lie for you. I’ll be happy to tell him you’re in a meeting or that you won’t be available for a while, but I’m not going to lie.” That pushed my boss to the edge. I thought he was going to start yelling, but he didn’t. He finally took a deep breath and said, “Fine. Tell him I’m in a meeting and that if he wants to wait, I’ll be out in a little while. But if he’d like to come back another time, that would be best.” My friend nodded and left the room.
My respect for my friend went up about 1000% that day. He wasn’t rude. He didn’t come across as self-righteous or holier-than-thou. But he firmly held his ground as to where the line was that he would not cross. He wasn’t going to lie. And I firmly believe he would have held that line even if the boss said he would be fired if he didn’t. Being right with God was more important than keeping his job.
Where’s YOUR line? At some point along the way, we’re all going to be pushed to compromise, like my friend was and the three Hebrew heroes in our passage today. You see, it’s one thing to SAY this is what you believe. It’s another thing altogether when you’re called to LIVE by it! Is your faith strong enough to stand firm when you’re being tempted, when you’re being threatened, or when you’re promised reward? My friend could’ve told a “white lie.” The three Hebrews could’ve knelt before the statue but said they never really “meant it.” You can justify anything when your faith is weak. It takes strong faith to stare down a king or a boss and do what you know is right. Let’s take the high road. Let’s live by what we say we believe. That’s God’s Word for you today.

How soon we forget. The king had been troubled by a dream. He knew it had meaning, but he didn’t know what. God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel, who in turn shared it with the king. The king was overwhelmed with awe and joy. He bowed down before Daniel and declared, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
But Nebuchadnezzar’s newfound faith didn’t last very long. His attention quickly turned from the God who had revealed his dream to the dream itself. He remembered that HE was the gold head on the statue in the dream Daniel interpreted. Surely a dream like that deserves to be remembered. So he had a statue built to commemorate the dream—and the gold head, of course. His awe of God turned into self-worship. HIS dream. HIS statue. HIS legacy. He forgot to remember where it all came from.
It’s easy to do, isn’t it? Many people have a “moment” with God along the way. But how many of those “moments” turn into a lifetime of service and devotion? We get into a jam and cry out to the Lord to bail us out. We promise the Lord that if He’ll just get us out THIS TIME, things will be different. We’ll go to church. We’ll read our Bibles. We’ll pray. We’ll stop all the “stuff” that we know we shouldn’t do. And then, BOOM! We’re out of the jam! But instead of remembering our promises and seeking hard after God, we go right back to seeking after OURSELVES and living the way we lived before.
God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to be king. God allowed him to conquer the Jews. God allowed the king to have all the success he had. God even went as far as revealing Himself to the king through the dream and revealing its meaning. But Nebuchadnezzar, like all of us, was easily distracted. He soon forgot where all his blessings came from. Let’s not make the same mistake. Let’s make sure we use our “moments” with God to build a LIFE with God. We ARE because HE is. Let’s not forget to remember. That’s God’s Word for you today.

When Paul was writing to the Ephesian church in Ephesians 3, he was overwhelmed by God’s grace and power. As he thought about God’s plan in Christ and how undeserving we all are, he praises God for His unending goodness. As he wraps up his thoughts, he writes these immortal words: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21 NIV)
“More than we ask or imagine.” Have you ever felt like that? Has God ever healed you, blessed you, or done something for you that made you just shake your head and say, “Wow, God! That was WAY MORE than I believed was possible!” I mean, God is good EVERY DAY. But sometimes He does things for us that just blow our minds. Things that thrill us and yet make us feel incredibly humble all at the same time. Things that make us fall on our faces before Him and cry out, “Lord, you are TOO GOOD to me!” Have you had a few of those moments along the way?
I’ve got to believe that was how Daniel was feeling in our passage today. Think about it. He and his friends came to Babylon as prisoners—Jewish slaves of the conquering army. But God gave them favor and placed them among the wise men in the king’s court. Then, after the king had a disturbing dream that no one knew and no one could interpret, God revealed that dream and its meaning to Daniel. Daniel shares it with the king, and it saves the lives of him, his friends, and all the other wise men. And if that wasn’t enough, the king then puts Daniel and his friends in charge of ALL OF BABYLON! From exiled slave to ruler. Yeah, more than he could have asked or imagined.
We come before a Mighty God today. One who is not only more powerful than our minds can grasp, but One who also loves us more than we will ever understand. So come humbly, but come boldly. Lay your life and all of your burdens at His Feet. You don’t have to hold anything back as you make your needs known before Him. What can God do for YOU today? Anything. Everything. More than you can ask or imagine. That’s God’s Word for you today.