I love playing golf as it is essentially a couple hours of solving puzzles: Which iron suits me here? Where do I need to land in order to get the best placement for the following shot? How can I best use the lay of the land to get me closer to the pin? All of those thoughts and questions need worked out and completed in order to have a successful round.
Unfortunately for me even before I could get to that stage recently I was struggling with the foundations. I would wildly swing and occasionally go towards the pin off the tee but usually I decided to explore the glorious countryside of Ireland wondering through bushes and grass the height of myself.
I couldn’t work out why things were going so wrong until I sat and went on Youtube (the master of teaching yourself) and watched a video on swing basics. Instantly I realised two things:
1. I was wildly over swinging in my attempt to get power and force the ball closer to the pin
2. I was standing too far away from the ball when I took my giant swing
Armed with this new information, I went to the course and hit some of the best shots of the year. This immediately got me thinking about my recent experiences with God and attempting to step out and prophesy.
In my quest to get more accurate and better at prophesy I was over swinging.
In golf, you need to take a controlled backswing and allow the club to do all the work. It will put the power and distance into the shot, the golfer simply needs to activate the swing and point it towards the correct destination. The same is true in our spiritual lives, God will use his power to impact the lives of others and we simply need to set up, get armed with Him and to aim His love and power towards those around us.
I was attempting to put so much power into what I was saying that I was focused on using my own ability and power instead of simply loving those around me and showing them the Father’s heart.
The second point I took away was a realisation that I had been drifting away from God. I wasn’t spending as much time in prayer and allowing him to guide my thoughts and heart towards those around me. Just like in golf we can’t help but drift off target if we stand too far away from the ball, or in the case of spiritual development, the Bible.
I needed reminded that no matter what skill I believe I have or how much I want to impact those I want to encourage; I will not hit straight with consistency without standing close to His Word.
Let me encourage you to get closer once again to the Father’s word and to stop striving for even greater things. Simply make yourself available and allow Him to demonstrate His power through you.
Finally, on a personal note thank you so much to everyone who has supported Writing Raw on Kindle. It has meant an awful lot to me. Thank You!