Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

If Martin Luther's great hymn, "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," is any indication, he often turned to Psalm 46 for comfort. When you read his story, you can appreciate why.

Having established that humanity bears the image of God and possesses the ability to make decisions, establish plans, and then alter our environment to accomplish our goals, Solomon turned to nature for a much-needed object lesson.

The psalmist's inner battle with the grind of personal weakness, recorded in Psalm 46, ended with a truce. He arrived at a critical decision that required every ounce of faith he could muster. He decided to withdraw from battle.

Two rival foes contend for control of our hearts: Sluggard and Diligence. Locked in a bitter, all-or-nothing struggle for dominance, each uses its most effective weapons to entice us to join sides against the other.

The psalmist's reaction to nature in upheaval was, "I will not fear" (Psalm 46:2–3). His response to feelings of personal weakness continues in Psalm 46 with a change of scene, which prompts another resolution.

Procrastination can feel like an oppressive ruler who cannot be contradicted or confronted. Its chains appear unbreakable and its rule, absolute.

The psalmist was most likely a priest. As a man of letters, he would have known the history of Israel better than most. And their path had not been a smooth one. They continually faced dangers from foreign armies.

Most of us know the meaning of this word all too well, but a concise definition helps clarify the issue. The procrastinator usually has logical reasons, valid excuses, and plausible explanations for inaction.

We deny it. We fake it. We mask it. We try to ignore it. But the truth stubbornly persists: we are weak and inadequate creatures! Being sinful, we fail. Being prone to illness, we get sick. Being feeble, we get hurt.

Solomon concluded this discussion of sexual temptation by considering additional consequences. He noted that when a man steals in order to keep from starving, most people empathize with his situation.

Psalms 42 and 43 capture for us David's situation of inner despair and disturbance. The source of his turmoil didn't go away after his visit to the headwaters of the Jordan River (42:6).

We’ve discussed what things to avoid and we’ve thought about how to avoid them, but we haven’t explored the question of why we should stand strong against temptation.

David's songs of inner turmoil don't offer easy answers; he's too realistic for that. David had seen the lowest of lows several times in his life, so he knew that counting your blessings won't work every time.

Beauty and charm are hard to ignore. Television, movies, advertisements, and virtually every corner of cyberspace train our minds to factor physical beauty into every decision.

God certainly has not forsaken His child, but at low moments all of us could testify that there are times when it feels like He has! What do we do to become reassured? How can we find the hope of God's care when we are feeling low?

While virtually every outlet in popular media bombards us with sexually oriented material—a phenomenon that previous generations didn’t experience—we also face another danger . . .

This song recounts those days when we feel like curling up in the fetal position and quitting. Fortunately, David doesn't leave us on the ground. He advises how we can conquer those feelings rather than succumb to them.

Solomon was a straight shooter. I find that rather refreshing in our day of vague definitions and bold rationalizations. The words you just read are timeless and no less relevant today than when the ink was still wet.

I have a "churning place." It's in my stomach. On the upper, left side, just below the rib cage. When disturbing things happen, when troubling words are said, . . . my inner churning starts.

Let’s conclude our consideration of contentment with advice from an older pastor to his younger apprentice. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, warning about the dangers of discontentment.