This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I’ve revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he’ll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks! (John 16:23-24, The Message)
I am blessed with a young friend I have known for many years. I have seen this man grow from a young boy to a faithful dad now, with a son of his own. He recently told me, “Randy, if you want to be a good dad, you need to be around. To be a great dad, you want to be around!”
To make progress in the game of golf, you have to really want to take the time and treat the progress as a priority. It does not happen by accident. It takes time and dedication to get better. It is also how we get better in any endeavor or relationship.
In the most important spiritual realm, how do we go from good to great in God’s eyes? God loves us all, and our worth is not predicated on performance. Yes, God loves us where we are right now, and yet he loves us enough to not let us stay stuck where we are. Instead, he gives us a desire to know and love him better. I believe that God loves to see his children want to be with him. We are his great workmanship, and he wants us to use the gifts he has given us.
As God said of Jesus when he started his ministry, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, NASB). He is well-pleased when we return this love to him by desiring his presence always. A changed life that pursues God is a great life well-spent in becoming what he had in mind when he made the original you.
I heard a wonderful talk years ago on a starry night around a campfire in Colorado at 9,000 feet. The talk was by Coach Bill McCartney. Coach McCartney won a football national championship at Colorado by inspiring young men to be better. He used the old story of the steam engine. At 211 degrees, a steam engine will make a lot of racket and noise but still just sit there. But, when you go another degree to 212 degrees, this hot water turns to steam and the powerful locomotive driven by this steam engine can now climb mountains. At 211 degrees, it is good. At 212 degrees, it goes from good to great.
These may be lofty thoughts, but what is the practical application of going from good to great? We must take a small step of faith in obedience. We must decide today whom we will obey. God enables us to scale the mightiest mountain with the power of the Holy Spirit when we want to be with him.
The answer may differ for each person. What is God asking you to do now—not so that he will love you more, but because he already does? We are already great in his eyes. I want to be around the God who loves me in this way. What about you?
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Randy Wolff
March 3, 2016
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.