Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

I KNOW, I KNOW . . . THIS IS A ROTTEN WORLD. And some people just can't be trusted. And con men (and women) and phonies and charlatans are out there, ready to rip us off.

A YOUNG BOY LIVED WITH his grandfather on the top of a mountain in the Swiss Alps.

You are never more like God when you are available to those who suffer. I urge you to be available for the long haul to that one who is grieving a devastating loss of a loved one.

THE BIBLE doesn't try to paint its heroes as anything but real people with real flaws. Consequently, Abraham becomes real, not despite his frailties, but because of them. Like all real people, he had weaknesses.

IN THE BOOK of Hebrews, Abraham is praised for believing God's promises. God called Abraham to move to a place where he didn't know a soul.

HEBREWS 11 has been called "the hall of faith"—and for good reason. Beginning with one of the first people on earth, the author traces the essential quality of faith through Hebrew history, highlighting ten great men and women.

DIRECT INTERCHANGES between God and individuals don't occur often in Scripture. But in Abraham's life, his interchange with God takes the form of a true dialogue, a back-and-forth conversation between friends.

DON'T CRY for Abraham. Don't mourn his death. Don't grieve his departure. Rejoice! Celebrate him. Look at what he made of his life and his final years on earth.

BEFORE ABRAHAM DIED, he took good care of all his children, establishing each of his sons financially as they left the nest and started families of their own.

EVER THOUGHT about how you hope to die? I’m not necessarily talking about your literal death; I’m really asking about how you intend to live until you die.

IN RESPONSE to Eliezer’s prayer, the Lord directed Abraham’s servant to a woman from Abraham’s family clan—a woman of uncommon character who worshiped the one true Creator. And in addition to all that, she was pretty!

WHEN ABRAHAM was growing old, he knew it was time to find a suitable wife for Isaac. To accomplish the all-important task, Abraham called on his most trusted employee, Eliezer.

FOR THE FIRST part of their life together, Abraham and Sarah worshiped many gods. Then they received a visit from the one true Creator God, who said, in effect, “I have chosen you to become My models of faith.

AS ABRAHAM and Isaac headed up the mountain, before Abraham knew how God would intervene, he assured his son that God would provide the sacrifice.

SOME YEARS after receiving Isaac, as promised by God, the time had come for Abraham’s faith to be put to the supreme test. God is, of course, omniscient.

WHEN HAGAR was forced to leave Abraham’s camp, she wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, a region roughly thirty miles southwest of Hebron.

GENESIS 21 gives the account of a man whose previous sin now haunts him and harms the people he loves. The birth of Abraham’s long-awaited heir, Isaac, gave him and Sarah great joy, but their delight became tinged with regret.

LONG AFTER Abraham and Sarah had given up hope of experiencing this joy, they held their very own son in their arms. It would have been easy for them to lose hope.

AT LONG LAST, at the appointed time, Abraham and Sarah received the fulfillment of God’s promise. Ninety-year-old Sarah gave birth to a son and, in obedience to God, named him Isaac, which means “he laughs.”

GOD ISN’T in a hurry, so He didn’t have a problem waiting a quarter century before fulfilling His promise and allowing Abraham and Sarah to conceive. Who knows why He waited that long?