Masters Sunday has become a meaningful event at our house. This year especially….the winner is someone 2 of our 3 kids know. I wouldn’t call them best friends but Thomas was paired with Jordan several times over the years and Collins was at AJGA events where they socialized in the same circles. It was fun to pull for him and see his parents and sister. Very emotional….the feeling that a family member had won.
It is quite funny when I talk to people and they tell me things about Jordan, things I have known for a very long time. Now that he is world famous those things are “hot off the press” for most people. As I watched the Masters for the entire week, all I could think about was Jordan’s life being much like David’s in the Bible. He defeated the “Giants” in golf that were coming after him…from Justin to Rory to Phil! Thankfully they just wanted to “kill” in regards to golf….not maliciously…nor were they defying God.
As the TV commentators were talking about Jordan’s composure–his ability to maintain and sleep on the lead for 3 nights and then close the deal–they marveled. I sat there and thought, “He has killed the lion and he has killed the bear”….in the past…like David. His experience in junior and amateur golf, his love of golf, as well as hours upon hours of hard work for years prepared him for last week.
His success did not come overnight as if by some miracle. For years as a young boy, then a teen, and now a young adult, he logged in hundreds of competitions and practice hours to get to where he was on Sunday. Just as David defeated Goliath, he relied on his past experience of protecting the sheep before he stepped up to defeat the Giant on a world stage.
Point of post….as I study scripture, more than ever I know that God has created everyone and put His fingerprint on every single person in the universe…our DNA! DNA is individual and unique to every human on the earth. Not only are we individual but God has a unique plan for every single person and it includes “Good works” that He “prepared in advance”. Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We all have different talents and abilities that we are to develop all for the glory of God.
David was anointed king and defeated Goliath but let’s not forget that he had REAL challenges and ran for his life many times. Those challenges better prepared him for his role as king. God may not have a Masters trophy and millions of dollars in your future but He does have a plan. That plan may involve challenges. How that plan unfolds is up to God and up to us seeking His PERFECT plan for our lives.
God gives us the choice to first, choose Him, then to Trust and OBEY Him–to surrender our will to HIS PERFECT plan. It is very important to remember 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”
Let’s remember God prepared us in advance for the good things…not the bad. We will ALL GIVE AN ACCOUNT ONE DAY. That account will be how we will spend eternity which is a lot longer than the “vapor” we call life!
The story of David and the story of Jordan Spieth are exciting. Both have taught me that hours of hard work, spent in obscurity, can be God’s training ground…preparing us for greater things. God will show you. You have to seek Him. The Bible clearly states that when you seek Him with all your heart, you will be found by him (see Deuteronomy 4:29). BE faithful with all your thoughts and your actions when no one is watching. Realize…the Audience of One is the most important!