…forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3: 13-14, NASB)
By now the entire golf world is well aware that Tiger made a 10 on the par-3 twelfth hole in the final round of the Masters. As my brother-in-law told me, “We can all take some comfort in Mr. Woods’ Tin Cup experience.” While that is true, it was, to be clear, not like my 10s. There were no shots hit OB, no skulled wedges running along the ground heading for the creek at 100 miles an hour, no slices, no hooks. Yes, there was water, sand, and wind. But he mostly hit clean shots each time. It was the cleanest 10 I have ever watched.
What is most amazing to me, however, is what he did after the 10. When most of us would have been thinking about walking off the course and drowning our sorrows in the clubhouse, Tiger shifted gears and aggressively attacked the next six holes in five under par, once again showing us that he is, after all, Tiger Woods.
While most of us probably can’t shift gears and perform on the course like Tiger did at the Masters, because we are in Christ we get to choose what we think about and allow our minds to dwell on. In fact, that is exactly how we are to live.
Paul wrote in Romans 12 that we are not to “be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” Out with thinking based on worldly values, in with thinking based on God’s word. Out with the negative memories of our past life (our 10s), in with the memories of what God has done for us and continues to do for us.
As with Tiger, the “10s” we experience in life do not control the rest of this round we are living.Even in the midst of troubled times, we believers have hope and power to overcome. Take the example of Habakkuk. The nation of Judah was in trouble and his prayers were seemingly going unanswered. Though he did not understand God’s delay in answering, here is how Habakkuk shifted gears:
Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation, the LORD God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. (Habakkuk 3:17-19, NASB 1995)
With our eyes on Christ today, we can indeed “walk on my high places.”
We are entering December in what all of us will remember as simply “2020.” Say it, and people will know what you mean. We won’t have to work to remember it. As with Tiger, though, the “10s” we experience in life do not control the rest of this round we are living. We are “new creations” in Christ. Let us boldly go forward, regardless of the circumstances, and walk on our high places.
—
Bob Kuecker
November 30, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.