Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

The great apostle Paul was just like you and me . . . he had a love for God blended with feet of clay. Great passion . . . and great weakness. The longer I thought about this concept, the more evidence emerged from Scripture to support it.

Perhaps the finest model, other than Christ Himself, was that young Jew from Tarsus who was radically transformed from a strong-willed official in Judaism to a bond servant of Jesus Christ—Paul.

"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). Forgotten words. Truth be told, even in our churches we tend to get so caught up in a success-and-size race that we lose sight of our primary calling as followers of Christ.

Journey back with me for a moment to one of the many scenes that demonstrated just how ordinary Jesus's disciples were. What makes this account interesting is the presence of a mother of two of the disciples.

Exactly what does our heavenly Father want to develop within us? Well, rather than getting neck-deep in tricky theological waters, I believe the simple answer is found in Christ's own words.

Our world has become a large, impersonal, busy institution. We are alienated from each other. Although crowded, we are lonely. Pushed together but uninvolved. No longer do most neighbors visit across the backyard fence.

Close, open relationships are vital. A glib "Hi, how are ya" must be replaced with genuine concern. The key term is assimilation. When I use the word here, I'm referring to people reaching out to one another.

How wonderful that God personally cares about those things that worry us and prey upon our thoughts. He cares about them more than we care about them. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome, stomach-tensing, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice.

God has given mankind the ability to see beyond the present. And He has not given that ability to any other creation. He has given us eternity in our hearts, without which "man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end."

Foolish indeed is the person who considers himself safe and sound because he has money. . . . And another reason it's foolish to trust in riches for security is that money, in the final analysis, brings no lasting satisfaction.

The good life—the one that truly satisfies—exists only when we stop wanting a better one. It is the condition of savoring what is rather than longing for what might be.

While thinking back on his days with Jesus, John (one of The Twelve) remembers there was something about Him that was like no one else, during which time His disciples "beheld His glory." His uniqueness was that incredible "glory."

Have you ever been in an area of the country where there was a lot of fruit ripening in the sun? Maybe on some cool September morning you've taken a walk through the apple orchards of the Hood River valley or along the Columbia River in Oregon.

We cannot change the past . . . and that includes the way we reared our children. All of us—yes, every parent I have ever met—would love to step into the time tunnel and return to the Island of Second Chance. We would give anything to relive those years.

You and I could name things, specific things that we've gone through in the last several years that make no logical sense whatsoever . . . but that's okay. We can't figure them out.

A young fellow rushed into a gas station to use the pay phone. The manager overheard his telephone conversation as he asked: "Sir, could you use a hardworking, honest young man to work for you?"

Providence. We toss the word around. But have you ever analyzed it? It comes from the Latin, providentia. Pro means "before" or "ahead of time"; videntia is from videre, meaning "to see." . . . Put them together and you have "seeing ahead of time."

Disillusionment is a dangerous, slippery slope. First we become disillusioned about our fellow man. Then we move on to cynicism. Before long, we trust no one, not even God. We've been burned. We've been taken advantage of; we've been mistreated.

Like Jell-O, concepts assume the mold of the words into which they are poured. Who has not been stabbed awake by the use of a particular word . . . or combinations of words? Who has not found relief from a well-timed word?

What is God looking for? He is looking for men and women whose hearts are completely His—completely . . . . God is not looking for magnificent specimens of humanity. He's looking for deeply spiritual, genuinely humble, honest-to-the-core servants.