The LORD watches over you. (Psalm 121:5, NIV)
Every sort of golfer reads these words. Some even play for a living.
But here’s a fact that may be little known to you. Even among those who play professionally, not too many play with spectators. The crowds you see on Sunday are not the crowds of Thursday for most of those in the field. Few people walk with the Zac Blairs and Tom Loveladys and Lanto Griffins of the PGA Tour, no matter how great these guys may be.
The LPGA Tour has its faithful fans—and I would count myself among them—but the crowds are sparser still. And then there are the mini-tours. Talk about toiling in anonymity.
I am reminded of two things here.
The first is my dear friend Randy Wolff, who played five years on the PGA Tour in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Randy says that there were three notable constituencies on the Tour in those days: Arnie’s Army, Jack’s Pack, and Randy’s Relatives. I laugh every time I think of this.
When it comes to golf, most of us don’t want watchers. We certainly don’t want them when faced with our toughest challenges.The second is a club invitational’s horse race in which I played 10 years ago or more. It’s a format where the teams are whittled down one hole at a time until just two are left. I was playing with my dad, and we are equally yoked in the golf sense, with similar handicaps and abilities. But during that time, I was struggling greatly with my bunker play. So when, as one of the two teams remaining on the final hole, we stood in the fairway and it was his approach to hit in the alternate-shot progression, I said, “Anywhere but the left bunker.”
I would not make a very good caddie. He hit it in the left bunker.
And now, here I was—with a gallery of at least 100 cocktail-sipping members and guests surrounding the last green—pressed to hit a decent bunker shot if we were to have a chance of winning. I left it in the bunker.
When it comes to golf, most of us don’t want watchers. We certainly don’t want them when faced with our toughest challenges.
You may say the same about life. Don’t look over my shoulder. Don’t place me under your scrutiny. Let me get through this on my own.
Unless you, my fair observer, are God in heaven. This was the perspective of the psalmist in our second song of ascents, Psalm 121. The songwriter was not afraid to admit he needed help, but he was quick to say he wasn’t looking for help from just anyone. He wanted “the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth,” who would not let his foot slip, who would watch over him in his sleep, who would keep him from harm, who would watch over his life.
God will watch “over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.” To some, this is a dreaded thought. They do not want their sins exposed, their choices questioned. But to the one who knows God, it is the greatest of all comforts. We can play our life before the Lord and know he is there to come to our aid and encourage what we do well.
—
Jeff Hopper
June 27, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
OTHER DEVOTIONS IN THIS SERIES
Ascending: Common Complaints (Psalm 120)
Ascending: Joy and Peace in Fellowship (Psalm 122)
Ascending: The Mercy We Need (Psalm 123)
Ascending: How Great An Escape (Psalm 124)
Ascending: Stark Lines (Psalm 125)
Ascending: Sorrow and Joy (Psalm 126)
Ascending: Work and Home (Psalm 127)
Ascending: ‘Blessed’ (Psalm 128)
Ascending: Set Free (Psalm 129)
Ascending: Finding Forgiveness (Psalm 130)
Ascending: Our Waiting, Impatient Soul (Psalm 131)
Ascending: Despite Our Sin (Psalm 132)
Ascending: Together in Christ (Psalm 133)
Ascending: Earth to Heaven, Heaven to Earth (Psalm 134)