The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:6, NIV)
In a recent tournament, my playing partner kept lining it up wrong. He was hitting his shots well enough, but they were not going where he wanted. His alignment was way off, to the point where he was getting discouraged and frustrated with the game. Here’s where I stepped in. I told my partner about a little habit to use before every shot. I instructed him to line up his club along his chest using the butt of the club to point at his target. Once he started doing that, he lined up correctly before each shot and was striping the ball down the middle of the fairway. Soon his confidence and enjoyment was back.
I’m no professional, but I was able to pass on something I had heard along the way and it made the difference for my friend that day.
Alignment is more important than most of us think. A shot can feel just right and the divot we produce can come out like a perfect dollar bill, but if we are pointed in the wrong direction we will frequently disappoint ourselves by hitting it nowhere near our target.
Plenty of golfers can tell you this is true, but not so many of them recognize that life is very similar. If we don’t point our hearts in the right direction, we will find ourselves in places we never intended to go.
Again, I’m not making this up out of my head. This is something I have “heard along the way,” by reading Paul’s letter to the Romans. In that amazing letter, Paul included a discussion of two lives. There is the life governed by the flesh (or sinful nature) and the mind governed by the Spirit. That “governor,” you might say, is what sets our line in life.
When we do not allow the Spirit of God a place in our lives, we will instead be governed by the flesh. We’ll call our own shots, certain we’re doing just fine. The seas may be calm and the skies blue. But if our navigation is wrongly calibrated and we miss our port, we may sail to our death. That’s a serious miss.
But let me show you a different picture. I spent time the other day with a Links Player whose health is failing him. He has been told he needs a lung transplant. His flesh, you could say, is headed (as all of ours are) toward death. You would not know this by his spirits, though. He has kept his mind on Jesus, and he knows that God is good and in control. He thanks his Links Fellowship for their ongoing encouragement. Together they are praying with him for a donor. This is the optimism of a man who is being governed by the Holy Spirit. In a hard time, he is finding life and peace—and he is receiving beautiful support from others who are also living according to the Spirit.
I hope you’re pointed in the right direction in your life. If not, tell this to your friends in the faith. Tell this to Jesus. Tell me in an email. Confession of your wrong course can be the first step toward new life. This is something I don’t want anyone—including you—to miss!
—
Dereck Wong
February 6, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.