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By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

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Stop and Know He’s God

“Our God is right there. Don’t become so familiar with Him that you forget that. You will learn all about Him more than you ever knew in your life as you study here, and that’s as it should be. But don’t let the familiarity breed an indifference. Guard against that. You get like that when your studies stack up and when your pace increases and when your engine runs and rarely idles. Stop and realize that He’s God.”

Don’t Do Ministry Alone

You can’t do it alone. I know you’re gifted, and I know you’re capable, and I know you’ll be very well educated. I know you’re gifted, and I know God has for you a plan that will even surprise you with His blessing, but you need to be close to others. Need to link up with them. Need to be in touch with them.”

God’s Provision for Elijah

“Isn’t it great the Lord doesn’t rebuke him? ‘Well, what kind of a prophet are you? You ought to be ashamed of yourself.’ God never, ever, ever does that. He never shames His own. We shame each other. We shame ourselves. But the Lord says to him, ‘You need to rest.’ So He caters a meal, gives him time to rest, relieves him, gives him a fresh look, and later, gives him a companion named Elisha, who would journey with him, not only through the rest of his days, but even to the moment of his departure. A companion.”

Psalm 46:10

“‘Stop.’ See it? My Bible reads, ‘Cease striving.’ The Living Bible, ‘stand silent.’ The Amplified, ‘Be still, and know (recognize, understand) I am God.’ Moffatt, “Give in,’ he cries, ‘admit that I am God.” Another, ‘Stop fighting. Know that I am God.’ I’ve always enjoyed Eugene Peterson’s Message, ‘Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything’ (Psalm 46:10 The Message). It’s an emphatic imperative with a causative stem. You’re engaged in the stopping. No one else can stop the striving for you.”

Record the Ways God is Moving

“Get a journal, start writing in it. You’ll record the things that God is teaching you, and you’ll read back over it, and it’ll bring you to tears sometime. Others will make you laugh out loud. Some of the things you read will say, I remember that. I panicked at that moment. And then eight pages, nine pages later, the answer is recorded where God came through. It’s marvelous. Your journal, your story. But you won’t do it if you don’t be still and get quiet. Be still. Be quiet. Learn that He’s God.”

Additional Resources

First, sign up for our Chuck’s Insights on Ministry email where we bring you his best thoughts on preaching, leadership, and ministry each week. By signing up, you’ll instantly receive a one-page checklist with 20 preaching insights from Chuck. See this page’s sidebar.

Second, check out our new Preach The Word articles and video series on YouTube where we’re teaching Chuck’s best insights on this important calling.

Third, listen to Chuck’s messages to those in ministry through our Seminary Chapels page. For decades, he offered students at Dallas Theological Seminary his best thoughts on church leadership and ministry. Now, we have put them at your finger tips. Also, you can find them through this YouTube playlist we created for you.

Fourth, if you don’t own a copy of Chuck’s book on preaching, Saying It Well, we highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s his preaching memoir that is also like a practical preaching manual. You won’t be able to put it down.

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