Fore! Oops... sorry...

Some of you may or may not know this about me, but I play golf. I'm not the best, but most days my score is less than Moses's age when he died. Yesterday, we had a golf tournament. It was hot and the course was filled with hills.  I certainly got my workout in. Anyways, as I was dragging myself along, I realized that there are a TON of similarities between golf and my personal walk with God.

I just started playing golf about a year ago.  All of the coaches that I talked to said that my swing looked excellent and I would be a great golfer in time.  But at the end of last season, my scores were TERRIBLE.  I got pretty discouraged.  I had laid the ground work and was doing everything correctly (according to the coaches and other people I talked to), but it wasn't showing at all. Finally this year, my scores and shots are starting to improve a bit, but it's taking a lot of hard work, practice, and patience.  The same can be said for our spiritual lives.  Most of the time, we won't see the results immediately.  When we bow our heads to pray, very rarely is the result sitting in front of us when we open our eyes. It takes perseverance. It takes endurance to wait.  It takes patience. It takes faith. We need to realize that even if God doesn't answer our prayers 30 seconds after the 'amen' is said, He will do what is best for us in His own time.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.  -Colossians 1:11

Like I said earlier, the course we played on yesterday was full of hills and it was pretty hot out. We played 18 and as we got around to the 12th or 13th holes, it was a  real drag. We were getting seriously worn out.  I've been struggling with this same drag in my spiritual life. You can't just drop out and quit, though. You have to push through it.  You have to keep going.  It will make you stronger.

Fight the good fight for true faith.  Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. -1st Timothy 6:12

Golf is a total mental sport. You WILL make bad shots. That is part of the game. I've known that from day 1; however, I still get upset with myself whenever I hit a bad shot (and it happens a lot).  I think a huge struggle for me in both my golf game and my relationship with God is forgiving myself. Just as I WILL make bad shots, I have to  realize that I WILL screw up and make mistakes in life.  It's how you handle that bad shot or that mistake that makes all the difference.  If you are so flustered about what a bad shot you just hit, chances are you'll mess up the next shot, too, because you're not focused.  If you clear you're head and have an "Oh well, it happens. This one will be better" attitude, you have a much better chance of getting out of the predicament you find yourself in.  The worst thing that you can do is say to yourself "Well, I've already screwed this up. There's not much I can do to make it better, so who cares?"  Your troubles are likely to snowball thinking like that. We cannot be perfect. We will screw up. Our God is so amazing, though, that He's only focused on how we handle it. Do we ask for forgiveness and honestly try to live a sin-free life as much as we can, or do we just not care?

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. -2nd Corinthians 12:9

Sometimes I can't stand golf, but other days I love it. I don't want to say that some days I can't stand God, that would be a lie, but there are some days where I'd much rather head straight to bed without saying a prayer or reading a verse.  To be perfectly honest, I have my days where I want to be left alone and not bother with God, but just like in golf, you have to keep going. You have to push through the hard moments and know that better days are up ahead. Pushing through will make you better, stronger, and it will pay off in the future.

We don't have to be perfect, we just have to keep going.