Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10)
There is a moment in golf, just before a putt, when everything unnecessary must disappear. The noise, the mechanics, the outcome, the fear of missing — all of it has to fall away.
For me, that moment comes when I look down and see only the white of the golf ball. No lines. No logos. Nothing to guide or distract. Just the ball.
It has become a quiet reminder that God is present everywhere, in all things, at all times.
Scripture tells us that there is nowhere we can go where God is not already present. “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).
On the golf course, that truth becomes tangible. God is not only in the grand moments of life — the victories, the losses, the prayers spoken in crisis — but also in the smallest details, even at that moment when a golf ball is resting peacefully on the green.
When I focus only on the white of the ball, it clears my mind. It removes the illusion that I am in control of the outcome. My responsibility is simply to be present, to make the best stroke I can, and then to release the result. The outcome no longer belongs to me.
Golf, like life, tempts us toward control. We want formulas, lines, guarantees. We want certainty. But faith invites something different — trust without grasping—a willingness to act faithfully without demanding results.
I have never been a technical golfer. I play by feel. For years, I wondered why that was. Now I see it differently. Playing by feel allows me to step outside myself, to loosen the grip of ego and expectation.
It becomes less about proving something and more about participating in something already unfolding under God’s care.
In that sense, the simple act of putting becomes a prayer. Not a prayer for the ball to go in, but a prayer of surrender. A reminder that I am not the author of outcomes, only a participant in God’s presence.
When I see only the white of the ball, I am reminded to be still. To trust. To let go of myself long enough to do the next thing faithfully.
And whatever happens next — made putt or missed putt — God was already there.
Prayer: Lord! Take us deeper and deeper in our awareness of your presence!