37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.” Daniel 4:37 (NAS)

There is reason to believe King Nebuchadnezzar experienced spiritual “regeneration” in response to seven years of discipline at the hands of the King of heaven. The three verbs (praise, exalt, honor) in fact denote continuous action. For seven years the most powerful man in the known world was essentially “Baker acted,” relegated to a private grassy field with livestock. There he lived as an animal just as God predicted in his dream, as the prophet Daniel interpreted. The king was given one year of grace to shed his pride, but he refused. As such, the judgement was executed.

In the end, he glorified God. I for one have always been skeptical (for lack of study) of this change of heart, yet we have here recorded by the venerable Daniel who witnessed this transformation one of the most dramatic testimonies of all time. He was quite conscious of his sin and well aware of his salvation from it. It may very well be that I’ll see him in passing on the streets of gold. We’ll probably agree that “God causes all things to work together for good.”

We’ve all been similarly humbled to break us to the point of acknowledging our need of a savior, that is Jesus Christ. True signs of conversion will always be the adoration, exaltation and glorification of the King of heaven. If that is now your normal response to the vicissitudes of this fleeting life, you’re in.