Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Stress: that confusion created when one's mind overrides the body's desire to choke the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately needs it. No, you won't find that definition in the dictionary, but right now, I think it should be.

Asking for help is smart. So why don't we? You want to know why? Pride. Which is nothing more than stubborn unwillingness to admit need. The result? Impatience. Irritation. Anger. Longer hours. Less and less laughter.

Here's another promise many try to claim . . . . without the condition. "God has offered me His peace, and I'm claiming it now."

God's Book is a veritable storehouse of promises—over seven thousand of them. Not just eloquently worded thoughts that make you feel warm all over, but verbal guarantees in writing, signed by the Creator Himself.

Duffy Daugherty, a colorful Michigan State football coach in years past, used to say that you needed only three bones to journey successfully through life: a wishbone, to dream on . . .

A bazaar was held in a village in northern India. Everyone brought his wares to trade and sell. One old farmer brought in a whole covey of quail. He had tied a string around one leg of each bird.

Back when I was in grade school, it was always a special treat when the teacher gave the class permission to do something unusual. I remember one hot . . . afternoon when she gave everyone permission to go barefoot after lunch.

By now in our Christian walk we hardly need the reminder that life is not a cloud-nine utopia. It is a terribly unrealistic view to think that Christ helps you live happily ever after; it's downright unbiblical!

There is nothing quite like the charm and personal touch conveyed by a handwritten note. Since our penmanship, like our fingerprint, is altogether unique, each curve of the letter or stroke of the pen bears its own originality.

We are a success-saturated society. The telltale signs are everywhere. Each year dozens of books and magazines, scores of audiotapes and videotapes, and hundreds of seminars offer ideas, motivation, techniques . . .

Difficult though it may be to believe, there are Christian people who are out of touch and uninvolved in the town or city where you live. And also in the church where you worship. They need you.

Paul certainly proved himself a prophet when he wrote: "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1).

It's baaaack! The age-old yuletide season is about to slip in the door once again. Better not shout, better not pout, for the malls will be playing "Jingle Bells" several thousand times between now and December 25.

Quick now, what woman in recent years not only won the prestigious "Woman of the World" award but was named the "Most Admired Woman" in the world for three consecutive years?

John Steinbeck's delightful little volume Travels with Charley fascinates me each time I read it. It tells how the author and his dog took to the highways, traveling hundreds of miles.

Paul deals with the value of being gracious in your Christian walk in 1 Thessalonians 2:7–11: "But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children."

Years ago my older son, then a teenager, and I dropped by the local Hallmark shop to find Cynthia a card for Mother's Day. Somewhat bored with the process, Curt wandered back to the posters.

When the Ritz-Carlton Hotels won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the owner of that outstanding organization, Mr. William Johnson, stated that now they would need to work even harder to earn the respect that came with the award.

"My soul waits in silence for God only" (Psalm 62:1). Some of the best times in prayer are wordless times. I stop speaking, close my eyes, and meditate upon what I have been reading or upon what I have been saying.

Lists are everywhere. The sports page is full of them. Elsewhere we find lists of Academy Award winners, Pulitzer Prize winners, and beauty contest winners. The publishing world has its best-seller list . . .