My dad and I spent countless hours at our local driving range, which was usually more dirt than grass. I like to sit in a chair on the range, like he often did, and think about our times together while watching the cows graze in the nearby pasture.
When I’m hitting it poorly, I turn to phrases he would often say about how I take the club back, my right wrist, and my right foot. I can still hear his voice, loud and clear. (I also hear him say, “Go help your mother!”)
During a recent pre-tournament press conference, I asked Lydia Ko what she’d been working on with her instructor. Her answer rang true. “Honestly, the same things,” she said, “sometimes when things aren’t going your way, you feel like there may be new solutions to those problems. Most of the time, it’s really the same kind of tendencies.”
We are creatures of habit, both good and bad.
As I’ve struggled with the same swing flaws over the years, I’ve also struggled with the same sin.
Our church recently went through a sermon series on the book “Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table.” In the book, Louie Giglio talks about the practice of rededication at church, where we take the same struggles to the altar time again, promising God that this time we will get it right. Promises we often can’t keep.
Giglio writes, “Here’s a big danger: We rededicate our rededications so often we reach the point of hopelessness. We conclude nothing’s ever going to change. Something must be wrong with the gospel. Or something must be wrong with us.”
The solution? Rather than promising God that we will fix the problem and not do it again, the best thing we can do is surrender it.
In 1 Corinthians 10, we find Paul imploring the church of Corinth (and us) to heed the lessons learned from the Israelites. The struggles of today are not new.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (I Corinthian 10:12-13)
We are not alone in our temptations. They are “common to mankind.” And rest assured, God will provide a way out.
PRAYER: Father God, we thank you for your unending mercy and for your patience as we learn to surrender our flawed tendencies to you and let your Holy Spirit lead the way.