“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” (Jeremiah 29:11-12, NIV)
If you don’t already know who Paul Tesori is, you’ll get an in-depth look through the upcoming 2014 Links Players Magazine. But you may also have become aware of Tesori because of his marked absence from the PGA Tour’s 2014 opener, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Tesori is Webb Simpson’s regular caddie, but he wasn’t in Hawaii because he and his wife Michelle were expecting their first child together. When little Isaiah was born that week, however, there were complications—a seizure just after birth—and he was immediately sent to the hospital’s NICU for critical attention. That will leave new parents crying out to the Lord!
As it turns out, though, the Tesoris were not alone. Their many PGA Tour friends, playing nearly 5,000 miles away in Hawaii, were thinking of Isaiah in Florida and praying right alongside Mom and Dad.
One of these was Zach Johnson, who emerged from a star-studded leaderboard to win the tournament in classic Zach style. “I picked it apart,” he said of overcoming the big course at Kapalua. “The one thing I prayed about out there today was just to have peace out there regardless of the situation, whether I was five up or five down,” he said in his post-round interview. Sure enough, he came from behind to win.
This same day, Paul and Michelle Tesori were “five down.” At least it looked that way. The tests the doctors ordered were the kind certain to bring fear and worry, but the Tesoris released a statement that they were thankful for the many prayers of friends and family. They were relying on the assurance of Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” This is no promise of health or guarantee of long life, but it is a recognition that God had the whole set of circumstances in his hands. On Sunday of this week, eight days after he was born, Isaiah Tesori left the hospital where the staff had come to call him the “little miracle.”
Today’s passage reminds me of how good God is. He has a plan for each one of us. Our job is to call on him in prayer, remain in his peace, and watch for his wonder!
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Dereck Wong & Jeff Hopper
January 17, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.