Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him. (Romans 4:18, NIV)
This time two seasons ago, few golf fans were following the PGA Tour progress of Keegan Bradley and Jason Dufner.
After notching a runner-up in the U.S. Amateur Public Links to Trevor Immelman in 1998, Dufner settled into quiet obscurity. Some would say with an emphasis on the quiet, but for our discussion here, the point is obscurity. It took until 2009 for Dufner to make the Tour and keep his card there. Still, he entered 2011 without a win.
Bradley’s rise to recognition was a bit quicker. The Vermont native finished 14th on the Web.com Tour money list in 2010—his first full season there—and came to 2011 a rookie on the PGA Tour. He won a few months in, capturing the Byron Nelson Championship. But rookies catch fire now and then. Maybe it was luck. Show me more.
Come August, though, both Dufner and Bradley would connect with golf’s biggest audiences in the most visible way: they finished the first 72 holes of the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club tied. The ensuing three-hole playoff went to Bradley, but now fans were noticing. Bradley, the poster boy for the atomic diagram—aswirl with fits and fidgets. And Dufner, calmer than your average backyard swimming pool.
In 2012, Dufner won twice, Bradley once more. Now they were Ryder Cup teammates. Dufner even found his way into a prominent TV ad—with no speaking part, of course.
The truth is, to wind up where Dufner and Bradley have is to defy the odds, to hope against hope. Hundreds of men sign their names to Tour Q-School applications every year. About 15 percent get through the first stage, and 15 percent of those through the next one. All that assures you is a spot in “the minors.” It’s a long way yet to making a career of it.
That’s a lot of golf talk to get us here: the day you know what God wants for you is almost surely not the day you’re ready to get it done. Abraham, living in obscurity, was called by God to a life he could not imagine. But “against all hope” he believed with hope, and God took him all the way to the fulfilled promise.
Maybe God has called you to something quite meaningful as well. Maybe you have a keen sense of just what that is. And maybe you’re waiting with not so much patience for this calling to come to fruition.
Hold fast—like Abraham—to the promise of God, that he will sustain you. Take each day as a step toward what’s coming. Hope even against hope. And watch where God takes you!
—
Jeff Hopper
January 28, 2013
Copyright 2013 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THE CALLING SERIES
Calling, Part 1: Identity First
Calling, Part 3: Is It God?
Calling, Part 4: Lacking a Caller
Calling, Part 5: Your Specific Destiny
Calling, Part 6: Sovereignty and Calling
Calling, Part 7: Looking Forward, Looking Back
Calling, Part 8: God’s Confirmation, Our Confidence
Calling, Part 9: Aliens and Ambassadors
Calling, Part 10: Excellence in Our Calling
Calling, Part 11: Balance in Our Calling