You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. (Galatians 5:7-8, NASB)
The Nike ad for its new Vapor driver says, “There’s always better.” The ad challenges Rory McIlroy, Michelle Wie, and Tiger Woods to “to hit it further, to win more Opens, and to win more majors.” They seem satisfied with their driver now, but the hidden message is “there’s always better.” Then they show Charles Barkley’s swing with his driver and exclaim, “You, sir, can get a big better!”
We experience this conundrum in life as well. We are doing all right, but then we get off course for a variety of different reasons. That is real life, isn’t it? We are following Jesus and thinking those good thoughts as we come out of the Bible study, and then it happens. Within an hour, we become an impatient sinner yelling at our brothers and sisters in traffic or dealing with co-workers with bad breath who have the ability to change our disposition.
The apostle Paul was challenged here just as we are. My friend and ministry partner, Tim Philpot, is convinced that Paul was a golfer. He quotes Romans 7:15: “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”
I meet each week with a friend who is raising his grandson. He is a relatively new Christian, but oh how he loves this new life in Jesus! We both get emotional together as we study the Scriptures in Luby’s Restaurant. We talk openly about this good life in Christ but also wail that we fail so much. He always uses these words with me, “Randy, I just want to get better.”
Desire does count. We were running well and then wandered off the trail. A simple desire to get back on the trail to God is an integral part of the race we run. The Bible says that David was “a man after God’s own heart.” For every one of David’s victories, it seems as if he suffered two moral defeats. How could he be a man after God’s own heart? I think the secret of his success in God’s eyes was that 1) he always maintained a lofty view of God and life, and 2) he knew where to run with the broken pieces. He knew God would always be there for him to make him stronger in the broken places.
Last week in our church we sang the beautiful song, “Thank You God for Saving Me.” When we begin to fully understand this amazing truth, our life will be lived in grateful response to the one who saved us. He not only saves us, he is perfecting us.
To the Philippians, Paul wrote, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). It is our choice to run with the one who will perfect us in the end. Then we can all say in unison, “I knew there was better.” Eternal life with Jesus does not get any better than perfect. Thank you God for saving me for perfection in the end. That will be a lot better!
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Randy Wolff
August 5, 2015
Copyright 2015 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.