Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

A basketball fan at the Portland airport awaited the arrival of the Trailblazers following a victory over the Lakers and attempted to scalp a couple of tickets to the next game.

"Nathan then said to David, 'You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. I also gave you your master's house . . ."'"

I remember returning from our nation's capital where I was privileged to spend time with many of the highest ranking officers in the military. . . . Many of these men and women are magnificent models of strong Christian commitment.

Volumes are written about the mind, our emotional makeup, our "inner man," the soul, the spirit and the spiritual dimension. But by comparison, very little is being said by evangelicals today about the physical body.

Why should we be willing to drop everything and follow Jesus Christ? And what happens when we do? I can think of at least six reasons.

Edith, a mother of eight, came home from a neighbor's house one afternoon and noticed that things seemed a little too quiet. Curious, she peered through the screen door and saw five of her children huddled together.

Entertainment is everything today. So important, in fact, that we have television programs and magazines devoted solely to the subject. All of which makes it real difficult to be committed to substance rather than the superficial.

Most folks I know like things to stay as they are. You've heard all the sayings that reveal our preference for the familiar: Leave well enough alone. I don't like surprises. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Stay with a sure thing.

When you stop to analyze the concept, "encourage" takes on new meaning. It's the act of inspiring others with renewed courage, spirit, or hope. When we encourage others we spur them on, we stimulate and affirm them.

Centuries ago a little boy found himself in the midst of a vast crowd of people—larger than any group he'd ever seen. He had come out of curiosity, having heard that a man named Jesus was nearby.

Overwhelming odds can make cowards of us all. I remember the first time I felt overwhelmed regarding ministry in a vast arena. My life had been quiet and manageable.

We often find ourselves bogging down in our spiritual growth simply because the challenges before us look absolutely impossible. Such frustrations are not new.

I remember the year NBA stars Michael Jordan and Earvin "Magic" Johnson were vying for the Most Valuable Player award. That year it was incredibly close, and the final tally resulted in Johnson's winning the award by the narrowest of margins.

"Rome wasn't built in a day." If I heard that once, I heard it a hundred times while I was growing up. I was young and impatient, anxious to reach the goals I felt were important.

Ever felt weird because you were "normal"? I remember the first time I had that feeling. I was a teenager surrounded by other teenagers in a testimony meeting.

From a distance we in the church often look like beautiful people. We're well-dressed. We have nice smiles. We look friendly. We appear cultured, under control . . . at peace.

Fresh-fallen snow blanketed the range of mountains on the northeast rim of the Los Angeles basin. When I caught my first glimpse of it in the distance, I found myself smiling and saying aloud, "Beautiful!"

Let me give you three very practical thoughts regarding this matter of God's strength through stress, as found in Psalm 46. First, His strength is immediately available. Our trials are not superficial or irrelevant.

Who would've ever guessed it? Out of the blue came this nobody. He had spent his youth working for his dad in the quiet, rugged outdoors. Now, suddenly, he was the most famous man in the country.

Having just held a memorial service for a friend several years younger than I who had died with liver cancer, I have been thinking about how to respond when struck by an arrow of affliction.