You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” (Psalm 27:8, ESV)
Have you ever scurried out to the practice range—whether for a few quick swings before the first tee or with a full bucket hanging from your fingers—and hit balls without having a specific target in mind? I am confident you are nodding yes. I too am guilty. The wide expanse of the practice range begs us to neglect target-minded practice.
Neglecting a target is not helpful when we are on the course. When we fail to give our brain specific information about where we want to hit the ball, getting the ball into the hole in the least number of shots is a fruitless effort. Picking a target (sometimes big and other times small) helps our alignment, proper alignment facilitates better golf swings, better golf swings produce greater consistency, and greater consistency leads to better golf scores.
Never stop seeking his face, never stop learning, never stop drawing closer to him.Practicing with a purpose, with a target in mind, will produce better results on the golf course. And our walk with Jesus is no different: we need to have targets we are heading toward. Otherwise, we end up wandering aimlessly but still expecting spiritual growth. The psalmist revealed what our main target is to be, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Do you know who it is that you seek? Jesus is the face of God that we are to set our heart (alignment) toward.
The good news is that with God there are no penalty strokes added when we take our eyes off our target. When we venture out of bounds or wade in a water hazard, his forgiveness is fresh and his love is kind. We are not limited to living this life in the least number of strokes or mistakes; we are given infinite grace to keep practicing and growing more consistent.
While our main target is to seek the face of God, the Scriptures also share smaller targets for us to seek throughout our journey. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—is an excellent example (Galatians 5:22-23).
You might also set personal growth targets that you know align with Christ’s heart. One of my targets this year has been gratitude—a gratitude that recognizes the good and is a reminder to open my eyes to the wonder of life and stay awake to blessings that exist, even in my troubles.
God is infinitely bigger than we can imagine, there is always more to find. Therefore, we must set our hearts and minds to seek him every day and every moment. Never stop seeking his face, never stop learning, never stop drawing closer to him. He is our ultimate target.
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Tracy Hanson
October 11, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.