All those pretty golf courses

Being here in Tucson, I have seen some very pretty golf courses.  And if you know me very well at all, you know I am about to go crazy because I don’t have time to stop and play one of them.  I so desperately want to stop, forget everything else that is going on, or anything else in life, and go out and and hit the little white ball.  And as I was thinking about that, God spoke to my heart.  He said, and I paraphrase, “Donnie, why don’t you want to spend time with me with that type of desperation.”  UGH, it hit like a ton of bricks.  As I thought on that, several thought came to mind.

1.  I look at my time with God almost like a chore.  Like it is something I have to do, almost like doing dishes or taking out the trash.  How sad and pathetic.  The creator of this world and of me.  The one who has saved me from myself and the pit of hell.  A chore?  I am ashamed to admit that as a truth in my life.  I asked God to change my heart and my mind.

2.  Just like those golf courses, it looks good but I just don’t have time.  In reality, if I would not have slept in or if I would use my time a little wiser, I could have had time to play at least nine holes.  The same holds true with my time with God.  If I did a better job of time management, I wouldn’t feel the urge of other things trying to pull me away.  For time reasons that is.  Which brings me to another thought.

3.  Other things “seem” to look so much more attractive.  But the reality is, there is absolutely nothing better than spending time with my Heavenly Father.  I have heard it over and over again, in order to get better at golf, you have to play more and you have to practice more. In order to draw closer to Christ, you have to spend more time with Him.  James chapter 4 verse 7 teaches us that if we draw close to God, He WILL draw close to us.  That is a promise.  All we have to do is make a conscience effort to spend time with Him. 

Even more than those golf courses were calling my name, God is calling to me to draw close to Him.  Can you hear Him calling you?