“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34, NASB)
If you have read Golf is Not a Game of Perfect by Dr. Bob Rotella, then you know that the perfect round of golf is a myth. Mistakes will happen every round. Tee shots hit OB, fat irons into a pond, thin shots out of a bunker—the painful list goes on. What matters most is how we respond to those mistakes. How do we bounce back from making bogey on an easy par-5 or double from the middle of the fairway?
A big part of a right response is understanding that misses are going to happen. Once you have that understanding, you can get over the frustration sooner, and get to the business of making a few birdies.
The same goes for our daily lives. Jesus in Matthew 6 and James in the first verses of his letter tell us that life is not a game of perfect.
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6, Jesus concluded that “each day has enough trouble of its own.” That’s a guarantee. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Not might have but has.
Now here’s James: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). It’s a similar assurance. When you encounter various trials, not if you encounter various trials. What happens when your son or daughter has their first fender-bender? Maybe you have a fender-bender? If you can realize early on that “each day has enough trouble of its own,” then you are on the way to seeing the testing of your faith produce endurance.
Golf is Not a Game of Perfect is filled with suggestions on limiting mistakes and getting over them sooner rather than later. We can improve our concentration, back off a shot when we are distracted, or change our practice time to better resemble a round of golf instead of pounding a bunch of balls.
The Bible is filled with similar suggestions, only about life, not a game. “How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding. For its profit is better than the profit of silver, and its gain than fine gold” (Proverbs 3:13-14). The Bible is where we go to gain wisdom for the day—even the bad day!
The Masters is right around the corner. You can bet Dr. Rotella will be on the hallowed grounds, waiting for one his students in need of a pep talk. You can also count on Sunday afternoon providing a test for the best players in the world. They won’t play a perfect round of golf, but someone will persevere and earn the right to put on the green jacket. And when Jesus finally says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” it won’t be because your life has been perfectly lived, but because you have endured in your faith in him.
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Bill Euler
March 26, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.