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MAY 28, 2010
JUMPING IN WITH BOTH FEET

Then Peter got out of the boat, walked on water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:29-30, NIV)

When I get myself to a golf store, I love that I can see and try so many different products. No golfer is ever satisfied with his or her game on the course; and few are ever satisfied with the clubs in their bag. Maybe a different putter would make more putts fall, maybe I could feel my way around better with a new wedge. And then there are the drivers!

But here’s the problem. Golf clubs are all about trial and error. Pick up a putter in a golf shop, and you might make putt after putt. But buy that baby and take it to the golf course, and you’re sure to miss your usual number.

So while I’d love to think myself an optimist, put a new club in my hand and all my skepticism sets in.

Sadly, my walk of faith is often similar. You can tell me all there is to know about the wonders of God, and my mind fills with amazement. I cannot imagine a life better lived than one under the counsel of the almighty, all-knowing, all-loving God.

And yet my skeptic’s faith provokes a shaky caution in me. I’m too much like Peter, ready to go down.

What can we do when our faith is full of hesitation, when our skeptic’s voice resounds with the greatest volume?

Peter’s lesson is wholly informative. For the brash disciple, rather than keeping his eyes fixed on Jesus, began to look at all the possible failure about him. This is precisely what throws me off in the golf shop. Sure I’m making these putts now, I think, but the challenges of the course are so much trickier. If I lay down the money, I’ll only be sorry.

In our walk of faith, we can get to thinking the same: How much trouble will I face if I truly lay down my life? So we hold back in our faith. But faith is about its object. And when the object of our faith is the One who can save—when our eyes are fixed on Jesus—we can most confidently go “all in.”

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Jeff Hopper

May 28, 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.