The Golf Game

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There once was a young man that decided one day he wanted to learn how to golf. He went out and bought himself a set of clubs and he bought a nice of pair of golfing gloves and shoes. The next day he went out to the local golfing club and started practicing. He swung his club as hard as he could and hit the ball with all his strength. He stood there for about an hour, his ball flying off to the left and right, his club digging into the ground but they just wouldn't fly straight down the course like he wanted them to.

  It was about this time that an old man came up to him, he'd been watching for a while now and thought he would impart some wisdom to the young man. 

  "What do you want?" questioned the young man, irritated at how things were going.

"I've come to help you," said the older man. The young man looked frustrated at the man but he kept quiet as the old man spoke.

"You need to stop swinging so hard," he said "let the club do it's work that it was designed for."

The young man sat for a moment longer listening to the a few more tips then the old man left. The young man waited till he was out of sight, then did as he had advised. He stopped swinging so hard and let the momentum of the golf club hit the ball, the ball flew through the air and landed nicely on the green.

  He continued to practice through the years, and taught many another young man after him what he had learned. 

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I heard this a few weeks ago in service one Sunday and it really stuck with me. So I thought I'd put it up here and make a story to go with it. 

In our lives there's many a time when we really put all our strength into what we're doing and we try to muscle through any trials that try to come our way. But just like in golfing, often times the harder we swing the worse the aim of the ball is. We need to stop trying to muscle it, and let God do the work. Give up control and let God direct our lives.

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."  Proverbs 19:21

"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?" Jeremiah 32:27

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." Job 42:2

This week, and every week. Let's remember to give God control and not to try and work through on our own strength. His perfect will is better than any plan we could accomplish.

God Bless,

      Ryan