In you, LORD my God, I put my trust. (Psalm 25:1, NIV)
Yesterday morning, more than 120 female golfers teed it up for the 90-hole endurance test of the LPGA Tour Qualifying tournament, also known as “The Fall Classic.” There is a lot riding on these five days of golf—full LPGA Tour status, a higher position on the priority list, or back to the developmental tour. A small number of these women will be filled with anticipation and hopeful expectations for their first time attempting to earn an LPGA Tour card. Others will be returning again with feelings of unmet expectations from this year’s season and some trepidation about the unknown of the week ahead.
I intimately know what these women are feeling. I’ve been there… a few times. No matter how hard you have worked to prepare, questions like Did I practice enough?, Am I good enough?, and Can I do it? fill each golfer’s heart and mind. It’s a real battle to keep the negative thoughts of the unknown from gaining control. Staying in the present, playing one shot at a time, is a constant challenge.
When we begin to worry and feel anxious about the future—whether it’s the score at the end of five days of golf, waiting for test results from the doctor, job status, life after the death of a loved-one, or life changes that are coming—we are putting our trust in ourselves and our circumstances, rather than in the Lord. This is where the evil one wants us because we question God and his plans for our lives. Doubt, fear, and unbelief lead us to feel unworthy, unloved, and uncared for.
It’s hard to stay in the present when we face the unknown, because our natural desire is to have the answers so we can prepare for what’s coming. In many of his Psalms, King David shared his struggles with this too. Yet, his answer was, “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.” Regardless of his circumstances, King David consistently reminded himself to put his trust in God, having faith that God would remember, guide, teach, protect, rescue, prosper, and love him.
When we try to figure out what the future holds, our imagination paints a picture that is small and colorless. The truth is our ways are not God’s ways and when we choose to put our trust in him, he will make what we can’t see now so much better then we ever expect.
Currently, I find myself in the middle of this struggle. It’s been three years since I retired from the Tour and I wonder where God wants me to be, my heart is feeling the loss of a loved-one, and more change is coming in the months ahead. I am living in the tension of enjoying the present and trusting God for my future. I fluctuate between feeling anticipation and hope to trepidation. My feelings of sadness and loss are real, and allowing myself to feel them is being kind. However, moving through these feelings requires that I continue to put my trust in the LORD my God.
I know I am not alone in this struggle; we all experience many unknowns in our lives. The good news is that in the middle of the mess God’s grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9) and we can confidently trust in our LORD.
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Tracy Hanson
November 29, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.