Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

If the truth were known, there's a secret "detective spirit" in most of us. With the best of the paperback and television detectives, we vicariously probe for motives, analyze the evidence, and ponder the killer's next move.

God makes some people large, others moderate in stature. Still others are small in size. We frequently make the mistake of calling small folks "little," but that is an unfortunate and unfair tag. I'm not picking at terms . . . there is a great deal of difference between being small and being little.

In pain, grief, affliction, and loss, it often helps to write our feelings . . . not just feel them. Putting words on paper seems to free our feelings from the lonely prison of our souls.

Each morning you awaken to an unpredictable set of hours filled with surprises and trials and anxieties. You know before your feet ever touch the floor you are in for another who-knows-what day.

Those folks who used to put together Campus Life magazine got my vote. With an incredible regularity they would put the cookies on the lower shelf so that any high schooler in America could thumb through the thing without getting turned off.

Can you keep a secret? Can you? Be honest, now. When privileged information passes through one of the gates of your senses, does it remain within the walls of your mind? Or is it only a matter of time before a leak occurs?

GENTLEMEN: Enclosed you will find a check for $150. I cheated on my income tax return last year and have not been able to sleep ever since. If I still have trouble sleeping, I'll send you the rest. Sincerely, ______________

One of the most encouraging things about new years, new weeks, and new days is the word new. Webster reveals its meaning: "refreshed, different from one of the same that has existed previously . . . unfamiliar." Best of all, it's a place to start over.

To start over, you have to know where you are. To get somewhere else, it's necessary to know where you're presently standing. That's true in a department store or a big church, on a freeway or a college campus . . . or in life, for that matter.

A number of years ago, on Valentine's Day, a couple was enjoying a romantic drive along a wooded section near Belle Chasse, Louisiana. Something white, shimmering in the trees, caught their eyes.

The scene is familiar: a hospital lobby with all the trimmings . . . soft sofas and folded newspapers . . . matching carpets and drapes illumined by eerie lighting . . . a uniformed lady at the desk, weary from answering the same questions . . .

A certain fascinating social phenomenon occurred in American history. Understand, I wasn't living back then, but from what I read, this actually happened. It occurred when "Go west, young man!" was the challenge of America.

Of all the letters Paul wrote, 2 Corinthians is the most autobiographical. In it the great apostle lifts the veil of his private life and allows us to catch a glimpse of his human frailties and needs. You need to read that letter in one sitting to capture the moving emotion.

It was the enraptured Rutherford who said in the midst of very painful trials and heartaches: "Praise God for the hammer, the file, and the furnace!" Let's think about that. The hammer is a useful and handy instrument. It is an essential and helpful tool.

This actually happened years ago. It was in 1968 on an airplane headed for New York—a routine and normally very boring flight. But this time it proved to be otherwise. As they were on their descent pattern, the pilot realized that the landing gear was not engaging.

Some collegians think manual labor is the president of Mexico . . . until they graduate. Suddenly, the light dawns. Reality frowns. And that sheltered, brainy, fair-skinned, squint-eyed scholar who has majored in medieval literature and minored in Latin comes of age.

During my days in New England, I heard of a teacher who quizzed a group of college-bound high school juniors and seniors on the Bible. The quiz preceded a Bible-as-literature course he planned to teach at the Newton (Massachusetts) High School.

The world in which one person lives is too limited and restricted. When rubbing shoulders with another, we gain a panoramic view, which allows us to see the whole picture. "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects man" (Prov. 27:19).

Chances are running high that you're in a hurry today. Am I right? Your "To Do" list stretches on and on. If you're reading this in the morning, you're wondering how in the world you'll get it all done.

It happens to every one of us. Teachers as well as students. Cops as well as criminals. Bosses as well as secretaries. Parents as well as kids. The diligent as well as the lazy. Not even presidents are immune. Or corporation heads who earn six-figure salaries.