“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.'” — 1 Kings 19:3-4
Do You Really Trust God?
Trust is as fundamental to a golfer-caddie relationship as it is a friendship. It is why you see long partnerships, like the one between Tom Watson and Bruce Edwards. Edwards was on the bag when Watson hit what became known as his signature shot, a chip in from the deep rough at No. 17 in the 1982 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. The two were trusted partners from the 1970s until Edwards’ premature death in 2004 at age 49 from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Trust is mentioned more than 140 times in the Bible. Why? I believe to help us with adversity. We become disoriented when adversity rocks our world. We need a reference point during a crisis, somewhere to focus when life is spinning out of control. God is the only absolute point of stability in existence.
I love the hymn, “My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less,” written by Edward Mote in the 1800s. The final writing of the hymn was in response to encouraging a friend with the Gospel during the final moments of his wife’s life. Here is the third stanza and chorus:
His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.
Trust of God begins with a right understanding of God, and a right understanding of God recognizes God’s sovereignty over every atom in creation — and certainly over the circumstances of your life. When you have a huge vision for God’s greatness, you are free to implicitly trust Him through your adversity.
— Scott Lehman, In His Grip
If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to jason@sportsspectrum.com.
