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FEBRUARY 19, 2010
ALL THE LITTLE ANNOYANCES

When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man’s labor on earth—his eyes not sleeping day or night—then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it. (Ecclesiastes 8:16-17, NIV)

Perfect drive, right out into that broad acre of fairway. Walking up to your ball, you can’t help but be pleased. You are set up for the most direct approach. And then you see it. Your ball is in an old divot. Hope defused.

At a moment like this, I have to cling to friend and sport psychologist David Cook’s “three-challenge mindset,” which says that—on average—you’re going to face three daunting troubles in every sporting endeavor, including golf. Perfect drive in a divot? Count “one.” Now overcome it.

When life hands us such difficulties in small, infrequent doses, most of us are capable of brushing them aside. We’re all pretty good at recognizing that not every path can be lined with roses, flowers open. Every now and then, we’re going to snag a thorn.

But when the troubles mount, or a single trouble persists without ease, we can find ourselves cursing our circumstances, baring our frustrations in heart-revealing ways.

Sadly, there is great sin in such reactions, and it isn’t so much the cursing. Rather, what is revealed through our ill-timed, ill-worded responses to difficulty is often this: a lack of faith in God.

Faithlessness is the root of every sin. We do not believe that Christ’s blood can rescue us. We do not think God loves us, for if He did, all of this would not be happening to us. We do not trust that God’s instructions really are best, so we go our own way. Every lapse in faith is a shot at God.

But this does not mean we cannot ponder His ways. For we should. Solomon’s musing in Ecclesiastes was full of such questions. Why does God do it this way—not always honoring the good that we do? This is not a dismissal of God, but an awe-filled inquiry of His nature. In that there is faith. In that we can live.

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Jeff Hopper

February 19, 2010

Copyright 2010 Links Players International

The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.

TODAY’S WRITER
Jeff Hopper is the editor of Links Players publications, including the Links Daily Devotional, and is COO of Links Players International. He played two years of college golf and now gets out about three times a month, except in the spring when he spends his afternoons coaching a local high school team.