James 1:3

Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

The Players Championship is being held this week and promises many exciting moments this weekend. Many notable names are on the first page of the leaderboard. Tiger Woods starts today nine strokes behind and inevitably we will be talking about “what could have been” absent his nightmare at the iconic island par 3- hole 17 yesterday. He approached the meager 120 yard hole making a huge jump up the leaderboard early in his round. However, he left the island green giving up nearly all of the ground. His tee shot was solid but carried about a foot too far and rolled over the fringe into the water. He reteed in the “drop area” and pulled a wedge left in the water again. He noticeably closed his eyes and bowed his head taking a couple deep breathes in order to reset his mind before finally getting a ball to rest on the green. He made a quadruple bogey seven on the hole. If you have played tournament golf at any level, the odds are high you have had one of these holes where a big number crept onto your scorecard. If you have been lucky enough not to have to write down a big number, you still have had one of these life moments some time. We all have had to fight in the face of adversity in one form or another. You may have been behind on your bills already and then a refrigerator decides to die. You may have lost a contract for a big account or a similar disappointment in your business life. You probably have also sensed a failure sometime in your spiritual life when you attempted to do something for Christ. We inevitably ask ourselves “why me God?” The Bible speaks to the heartaches, trials and temptations we will experience in this life. We often can look back and see the reason for the valley, but many times there is no answer. Even though we don’t know the “why”, we still should rejoice in the valley knowing that when we are tried, God is working! My prayer is to never get down in my faith in Christ because of a life circumstance. These life problems are no where close to the severity of the persecutions suffered by our Savior! We still have to retee whether it be for 3, 5, or 7 and finish the course. If nothing at all, it gives us a great story to share!