This is why we work and struggle: We hope in the living God who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10, NCV)
Golf is a tough game. It requires time, attention, and dedication to the fundamentals if we are to achieve any kind of success. We must work and struggle to get better, and more often than not we end up with a frustrating experience anyway.
I have asked myself many times why I play. My final conclusion always comes back to the fact that it is precisely because it is hard and a challenge that I want to do it at all. It captivates my mind and challenges me to be better. The game inspires me because of its innate ability to keep me humble and with the realization that I can never master it, only play it.
God asks for all that we have and takes what we give him. We struggle with giving up our right to our own life in order to follow his path for us. We try to work hard to be good and to do right, but the harder we try the more frustrated we can become. We look to others to satisfy us, but they cannot. Our life seems pointless at times as we try to figure out what we are supposed to do with it. When we finally come to the end of ourselves, we realize that we can’t win the battle of our life any more than we can master our golf game. We must learn to live our life just as we play the game of golf—we cannot master or control either one.
The good news of Christ is that we don’t have to trust in our own ability. Our faith in God shows us another way of living our life. If we place our hope in the living God, he will direct our efforts and struggles in a way that will satisfy his purposes for our life. Unlike the game of golf, which is dispassionate and does not care about the outcome of our round, God loves us with a level of compassion that is astounding. He cares about every detail of our life. He wants us to be successful by his definition of success, not ours.
What will make our life worth living? Pleasing him. What pleases him? He calls us to love him with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We can’t master our own life, but he has a plan for us that will satisfy the deepest longings we have. Our job is to learn to hear his voice and be obedient to him. We will never do this perfectly, but our efforts will please him and we will experience his pleasure as we fulfill his purposes for us and achieve success in his eyes.
—
Linda Ballard
November 11, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.