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APRIL 19, 2011
GROUNDED
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11, NIV)
I am not a golf professional. I’ve never been trained in the specifics of teaching the golf swing. But I am a
high school coach and a long-time player, so just like many of you I am often on the lookout for instruction that will help me or one of my players.
Because of short game issues that a few of my less experienced players are still encountering, I was
pleased to find a helpful video by Brian Manzella, an award-winning PGA professional in Kentucky. It presents both the theory of generating power in your short game, as well as offering a picture of how this is accomplished and a drill for practicing the technique.
What struck me in watching this video lesson, however, was Manzella’s emphasis on the ground. It is against the
ground, he explains, that we find the resistance necessary to create consistent power (as opposed to under-rotating, flicking the clubhead, and blading or chunking the shot).
This is not, as they say, rocket science. But it is a valuable reminder for someone struggling to produce good pitch
shots.
In the same way, it takes no special insight to say that if we are going to see good things happen in our walk with
Jesus, we need to draw on the firm foundation He provides.
But isn’t it easy to get distracted? Perhaps you are a reader, encountering different ideas about how to best
follow Jesus. Or you spend time with friends who go to two different churches, and their pastors are teaching different interpretations of the same passage. Maybe you have one friend who boldly speaks up
about Jesus and leads many to give their lives to Him, while a quieter friend can’t muster up the courage for evangelism but is doing beautiful, God-honoring work serving special needs children in
an after-school program.
You see, when we fix our eyes on the following rather than on the One who is to be followed, we soon find ourselves
conflicted in our priorities. And when we look to draw strength from the work rather than the One who inspires the work, we end up weary instead—a Christian busy with Christianity, but not so much
with Christ.
Trying to live an empowered life using any catalyst other than the Lord Himself leaves us pushing against the wind.
There’s so little hope for our accomplishing anything effective and enduring. We must keep getting back to the foundation, keeping in grounded touch with Jesus.
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Jeff Hopper
April 19, 2011
Copyright 2011 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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