In the classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, the main character, Christian, tumbles into the miry bog, the “slough of despond,” and struggles to get free. But the heavy burden on his back pulls him in deeper, and he begins to sink.
This image pictures what it feels like when we’re sinking in difficult circumstances—when our debts outweigh our income, when past hurts won’t heal, when discontentment marks our relationships, and when the light of heaven seems distant and dim. Discouragement, despondency, pain, suffering—these miry pits along life’s journey can pull us down into our own “slough of despond.”
Christian’s rescue came by the hand of a fellow traveller named Help...and the same is true for you today. Use these resources to find encouragement for your own life...or to minister help to those you find along life’s journey.
In your family you will discover clues revealing maturity happening in your children. Tell them so. Let them go. Here is Chuck Swindoll's story about his first car and how he learned a lesson in maturity and responsibility.
Be honest: when was the last time you said something or gave something or wrote something or did something with the single motive of encouraging someone else?
Discover with Pastor Chuck Swindoll more about the “groaning” found in Romans 8. Learn how the future and eternal glory awaiting the Christian far surpasses the agony of present suffering.
Each day you can make a difference in someone’s life. The people you come into contact with give you opportunities to extending kindness, courtesy, and compassion.
We live in a society of isolation and indifference. But the truth is, we need each other. When you’re separate, you’re weak. And if you think you can make it through life on your own, you’re headed for a fall.
Parents, you’re only human. Everyone makes mistakes. But stay at it. Your family needs you!
Want more joy in your day? Cultivate it! Joy springs from viewing the day’s events from eternity’s perspective. With this intentional focus, you’re sure to see today differently—with more joy and conviction that God is at work in your life.
It’s hard to imagine what heaven will be like. But the Bible does say it’s a real place and there’s nothing you can do to earn your place there. You just need to accept God’s free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Pastors today constantly counsel believers struggling with depression, broken marriages, anxiety, anger, and weak self-control. They can’t help but wonder, “Where’s that abundant life Christ promised in John 10:10?”
Music is medicinal. It calms, soothes, and lifts our weariness. It also delights and entertains, and helps us to forget our problems. Like the English poet William Congreve said—music has charms to sooth the savage breast, to soften rocks, to bend a knotted oak.
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Insight for Living is committed to excellence in communicating the truths of Scripture and the Person of Jesus Christ in an accurate, clear, and practical manner so that people will come to an understanding of God’s plan for their lives, as well as their significant role as authentic Christians in a needy, hostile, and desperate world.
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