Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the LORD on high is mighty. (Psalm 93:4, NIV)
Golf isn’t the only sport that has given us transcendent metaphors. “Home run” and “touchdown” have become synonymous with successful accomplishments of all kinds. Conversely, when one is “down for the count” like a hard-punched boxer, things don’t look good at all. The ball might be dropped, or it might be in your court—and here we’re not sure which sport these metaphors come from. And then we have “riding the waves,” a delightful surfing picture that means that we’re on top of life rather than life being on top of us.
But life isn’t always like that. In the video we’re featuring today, College Golf Fellowship’s Stephen Bunn talks with 7-time PGA Tour winner Stewart Cink about highlights of his career, including his victory at the 2009 Open Championship, and his recent win at the Safeway Open after 11 years without hoisting a trophy. But where the conversation gets serious is when Stephen asks Stewart about the crashing wave that was Stewart’s wife’s cancer diagnosis.
In thinking through Stephen’s questions on that time—which isn’t really over—Stewart says that the diagnosis of Stage 4 breast cancer and the daunting treatments “crystallized” his and Lisa’s faith. It drew them much closer to Christ.
‘You don’t have to wait for something like that in your life…to have your faith crystallized.’Life’s crashing waves have a way of forcing us to respond. For some, sadly, they drive a wedge between a hurt person and God. But for many others, serious circumstances lead to serious reflection.
What really caught my attention in Stewart’s answer, though (pick up at 47:19 in the video), were these words: “You don’t have to wait for something like that in your life, you don’t have to wait for cancer, you don’t have to wait for divorce, you don’t have to wait for something terrible with one of your kids, something meaningful to you to go horribly wrong, to have your faith crystallized.” This is the lesson Lisa and Stewart want to pass on to everyone they talk to about their experience and where it has led them.
If you are not as close to Jesus now as you know you could be, the question is this: What are you waiting for? Yes, there are those we read about in the Gospels who came to Jesus when they were desperate, and Jesus responded to their needs. He healed the sick and released those possessed by demons; he even raised the dead. But others needed no such prompting. They already understood the one necessary thing—that because of their sin, they had no claim to salvation. And here before them was the one, Jesus the promised Messiah, who could provide rescue. With him, they would ride waves and not be crushed by them.
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Jeff Hopper
November 17, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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