Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

When Joseph saw the cupbearer taken from the prison, he must have thought, Now's my chance! This guy has Pharaoh's ear. He'll get me out of here. We don't know whether Joseph knew what happened to these men.

Pain, when properly handled, can shape a life for greatness. History is replete with stories of those whose struggles and scars formed the foundation for remarkable achievements.

I smile as I read this, because if anybody ought to have had a sad face, it should have been Joseph. His plight was much worse than theirs. They were there on a whim of the Pharaoh and surely would not be there forever.

A cupbearer was the person who tasted the wine and food of the king before he ate or drank. That way, if it was poisoned, "So long, cupbearer," but "Long live Pharaoh!" He also would not allow poorly prepared food to be served . . .

Twice we read in that short account, "The Lord was with Joseph." Joseph began to see the hand of God in his prison experience. In what could have been the direst of positions, the dreariest of places, Joseph prospered.

If anybody knew about unfair treatment, about a false accusation, about being an innocent victim on the receiving end, it was Joseph. First, he received unfair treatment from his family. His brothers hated him.

Imagine what must have been going through Joseph's mind at this point, shortly after he was incarcerated. He was not only innocent, he had resisted blatant temptation over and over again.

The appeal of sensual lust works like a magnet, drawing two ''sudden and fierce'' forces toward each other—inner desire and an outer bait. Let's face it, you can't escape the bait if you live in the real world.

This is a good time to call to mind several lessons we can learn from Jacob's family and Joseph's adversity. The first is obvious. No enemy is more subtle than passivity. When parents are passive, they may eventually discipline . . .

Before we get better acquainted with Joseph, let's take a quick glance at some background information. It will help if you remember that his biography falls neatly into three distinct segments.

My hope has been to create an appetite for grace that is so strong nothing will restrain us from pursuing the freedom and spontaneity it can bring—a longing so deep that a new spiritual dawn . . . cannot help but burst through the wall of legalism.

When I consider the magnetic effects of gracious giving, four qualities immediately emerge. First, grace is so attractive: Grace individualizes the gift. When you give by grace, you give individually.

The more the grace of God is awakened in a marriage, the less husbands will attempt to control and restrict and the less wives will feel the need to "please no matter what." It makes marriage easier to manage.

One characteristic of a grace awakening ministry deserves special attention: release from past failures. A ministry of grace doesn't keep bringing up the past for the purpose of holding it over people. There is an absence of shame.

Want a boost of encouragement? Our God is working toward that end in all of His children. It is His constant pursuit, His daily agenda, as He points us toward our final destination, ''the Celestial City,'' as Bunyan calls it.

Let me offer several comments that may help you handle future disagreeable times in a gracious manner. First, always leave room for an opposing viewpoint. If you don't have room for an opposing viewpoint, you're not going to do well when you get teenagers.

As much as we may pursue peace, and as positive and tactful as we may be, there will still be occasions when disagreements arise. As one wag put it, ''Life ain't no exact science,'' which brings me to the last two of four facts.

As much as we may pursue peace, and as positive and tactful as we may be, there will still be occasions when disagreements arise. As one wag put it, ''Life ain't no exact science,'' which brings me to the first two of four facts.

I want to focus our attention today on the concluding verses in Romans 14. Read verse 19 slowly and thoughtfully. ''So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.''

In his letter to the Romans, Paul goes into great detail regarding the issue of personal freedom—greater detail than almost anywhere else in his writings. In the fourteenth chapter, for example, he sets forth four very practical guidelines.