I am not a fan of golf. Local preacher-buddies keep encouraging me to go with them but they would not play by my rules. You can use a bat instead of a club. You can use a t-ball tee instead of a golf tee. There are no penalties for landing in the sand trap or the water hole. The one with the highest score wins – after all, if I have to do more work and expend more energy and walk further, I deserve to win. And let’s try to get a hole in ten instead of a hole in one – that’s too limited.

            A golf ball is distinctly shaped. It has between 330 and 500 dimples in it. The golf ball did not have dimples until about a century ago. Then, golfers discovered that balls will go further because of the cuts, scrapes, dents and dings it had in it. Additionally, golf dimples can be tailor-made to the golfer and his swing.

          Two points can be made from the golf ball (the most use I get out of a golf ball). First, we need the “cuts, scrapes, dents and dings” in life if we want to go far. That is, the trials we experience in life make us better people. James, the Lord’s brother, wrote: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (1:2-3). The next time you suffer from trials in life, remind yourself that God is creating something in you that will make you better.

          Secondly, just like balls that are specially designed for golfers, our series of trials, you might say, are specifically designed for us by God. No temptation that has overtaken us is uncommon. The unique series of trials is unique to us. We are each unique with our own set of strengths and weaknesses. God, in His wisdom and understanding, has designed our lives to accentuate our strengths and to prune our weaknesses. He does it because He loves us.

          Let me alter slightly Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No trial has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tried beyond your ability, but with the trial he will also provide the lesson to learn from it, that you may be able to mature.”

–Paul Holland