Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

It was a cold, blustery January night in 1973. Senator John Stennis, the venerable hawkish Democrat from Mississippi, drove from Capitol Hill to his northwest Washington home. Although older (71), he was still the powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Let's talk about the offering, the time during the weekly worship service when the plate is passed and most people daydream or fidget around, feeling uncomfortable. If that describes you, you're missing a golden moment!

Your response to the heading of today's reading is probably: "Uh, oh—another money plea!" or "Here we go again . . . some Christian ministry trying to get into my wallet." If that's your response, I hate to disappoint you, but you're wrong.

Who really cared? His was a routine admission to busy Bellevue Hospital. A charity case, one among hundreds. A bum from the Bowery with a slashed throat. The Bowery . . . last stop before the morgue.

The Great Plague stretched across London like a thick, drab blanket. It came as a thief in the night . . . unannounced, treacherous, silent. The mortality rate was astounding. Someone came up with the foolish idea that polluted air brought on the plague.

Yesterday we looked at the grim, pitiful life of Samson, a powerful leader whose lust ultimately destroyed him. (Read Judges 16.) Lust is a deadly intruder you dare not entertain for a moment. When lust knocks on your door, you must call on Christ to meet it.

Samson was a he-man with a she-weakness. In spite of the fact that he was born of godly parents, set apart from his birth to be a Nazirite, and elevated to the enviable position of judge in Israel, he never conquered his tendency toward lust.

Could it be that you are beginning to feel the nick of falling rocks? Maybe the avalanche has already fallen and you're more than a little desperate. Job is our model for staying faithful when life is reduced to rubble. How'd he do it? Let's take a look.

Job could write about wounds. His words were more than patronizing platitudes and armchair proverbs. He'd been there and back again. He could describe intense inner suffering in the first person because of his own sea of pain.

Yesterday, I mentioned my penchant for time-management books. It's a vital topic to address because it bleeds into every area of life. Let me mention a few specifics. Some people are always running late. Yes, always.

I'm a sucker for time-management books. Some people can't say no to a salesman at the door. Others have the hardest time passing up a free puppy . . . or driving by a garage sale without stopping. Still others find it almost impossible to withstand the urge to gamble.

Discernment is essential. Undiscerning love spawns and invites more heresy than any of us are ready to believe. One of the tactics of survival when facing "the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16) is to make certain we have cinched up the belt of truth rather tightly around ourselves.

There is a Persian proverb that sounds more like a tongue twister than sound advice. My high school speech teacher had us memorize it for obvious reasons: "He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool; shun him. . . ."

Consistent interaction with God’s Word, regular time spent with a godly mentor, and a choice group of friends all combine to give us the greatest opportunity for growth in wisdom. To these, I would add one more suggestion.

In our continuing quest for divine wisdom, I have suggested, first, that we read Proverbs regularly and, second, that we gain the perspective of experienced, godly believers. We must also guard what we have.

No source of wisdom can match the timeless, infallible, inerrant Word of God. But don’t ignore the wisdom of other seasoned believers.

We have given much thought to the subject of wisdom and taken time to hear the counsel of ancient Israel’s wisest teachers.

When we first looked at the sayings of Solomon and the wise men of Israel, we began with Proverbs 1.

Psalm 149 encourages the people of God to praise Him at all times, regardless of circumstances. In times of blessing, praise Him! In times of suffering, praise Him! In times of warfare, praise Him!

Psalm 149 is not only a call to praise the Lord in times of blessing, and encouragement to praise Him in times of suffering, it's also a call to arms.