Written by Chuck Swindoll, these encouraging devotional thoughts are published seven days per week.
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.(1 Corinthians 9:24–27)
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”(1 Samuel 16:7)
Then the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”(Isaiah 6:6–7)
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.”(Isaiah 6:8)
Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord!” His earthly situation turned his eyes upward. That’s what happened to me back in the late 1950s. My disappointment, my loneliness and confusion, rather than hardening the soil of my soul, ploughed deeply. Those things cut away at me, made me sensitive to my Lord...in a way I would otherwise never have been.
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children.(Ephesians 5:1)
Since most humans suffer from a lack of balance in their lives, our best counsel on this subject comes from God’s Word, the Bible. In that Book, there appears a most unusual command: “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” (Ephesians 5:1 NIV 1984). Maybe you never realized such a statement was in the Bible. What a strange command: “Be imitators of God!”
The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught. Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.(Mark 6:30–32)
“But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.”(Matthew 6:6)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 4:6–7)
In the fourth chapter of Philippians, Paul mentioned a series of things all of us want:
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.(Psalm 90:12)
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.(2 Corinthians 4:16)
Sign up to receive Chuck Swindoll’s Daily Devotional in your inbox seven days per week.
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.
1-30445 Progressive Way • Abbotsford, BC • V2T 6W3
info@insightforliving.ca
1.800.663.7639