The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. (Proverbs 12:15, ESV)
Coaching college golf gives me the unique opportunity to watch several players play the same hole, and hopefully gain some wisdom to pass along to our next player who plays the hole. Five girls play for the team and the low four scores of that day count towards the team score while they are all competing as individuals, too.
The body of Christ has served as great encouragement and comfort to me in joy and sorrow.I was with our player who teed off first on the eighteenth hole, a reachable par-5 that was just slightly downhill with a little helping wind. The first two players I watched took one club less and still knocked it over the green. By the time the third player was in the fairway, I knew the rest of the team needed to stay below the hole, giving themselves putts for eagle, or at least an easier up and down.
Thankfully the players trusted me enough to take two clubs less than normal and things worked out well! The difficult part was that they couldn’t feel the wind on their second shot.
Sometimes, we do not feel or see the way God is moving in our lives, but praise God that he gives us his Word, Spirit, and fellow brothers and sisters to help us trust in him!
First, the Bible is God’s Word spoken to us. In Hebrews 4:12 we read, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Second, the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit. We find this in Ephesians 1:13-14: “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
Third—and this is the one I want you to focus on today—is that when we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are adopted into the family of God and now have brothers and sisters in the faith worldwide.
We are wise to lean on godly counsel from men and women in the faith.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 12:15, “The way of the fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” We would be remiss to not seek the counsel of godly men and women to pray for us or to not ask their opinion about decisions we must make. I know that the body of Christ has served as great encouragement and comfort to me in joy and sorrow.
My prayer is that we be in tune with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage them in the faith, listen to their advice, and apply it to our lives. Similarly, when we play golf with our friends or teammates, we can help one another by getting a read from a putt or choosing a club on an approach shot. Wisdom listens.
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Aimee Neff
September 21, 2017
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.