Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
From a very young age, there were high expectations for Tiger Woods. At age 2, he was on the Mike Douglas Show, putting against Bob Hope and Jimmy Stewart.
As he grew older, he dominated the opposition, winning six straight USGA Amateur titles and an NCAA individual championship at Stanford. Once he joined the PGA Tour, it was just a matter of time before his prodigious talent really began to shine.
Tiger’s dominance reached its peak in early 2000. Most golf fans are aware of the “Tiger Slam,” the fact that Woods held all four major trophies at the same time, starting with the 2000 US Open and continuing through the 2001 Masters. No one before or since has ever achieved that feat.
While the Tiger Slam was an amazing accomplishment, going a little deeper gives you a true appreciation for Tiger’s dominance at that time. The start of the Slam was the US Open at Pebble Beach, where Tiger’s margin of victory was 15 strokes; that’s a record not only for the US Open, but for any of the four majors.
His total score for all four majors was an incredible 65 under par; the second best for those tournaments were Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, at 20 under – 45 strokes behind Woods! For the ten-month period of the Slam, Woods played in twenty tournaments and won nine. No doubt about it, Tiger absolutely dominated the opposition.
We find some similarities in the Old Testament book of Judges. After seven years of torment from the Midianites, an angel informed Gideon that God wanted him to rescue the Israelites.
Gideon was reluctant and asked God three separate times for a sign that God would be with him. After God confirmed all three requests, Gideon accepted the assignment.
He gathered an army of 32,000 for the battle, but God had a different strategy and instructed him to reduce his troops. Gideon decreased his army down to 10,000, but God had a lower number in mind – just 300 warriors.
God wanted to make sure that Gideon’s trust was in Him as opposed to his soldiers. And sure enough, that trust was validated as Gideon and his 300 men dominated the Midianites through a surprise attack.
This story is a wonderful demonstration of why we always need to trust in the Lord. God’s direction to decrease Gideon’s army to 1% of its original size probably didn’t make a lot of sense to Gideon.
But he was willing to go forward in faith and trust God, and the result was a dominant victory over the Midianites. As we know from countless other Bible stories, God’s plans don’t always align with worldly thinking, but that’s where trust and faith come in. As David wrote in Psalm 62:8, “Trust in Him at all times…”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, when we face challenges in life, help us to turn our direction to you, because we know you have never forsaken those who seek you. Amen