Finish the race!

Monday was just another example how hard it is to win on the PGA Tour. I really thought that Tiger Woods was going to come thorugh with one of his miraculous endings, and he nearly did. With Rory McIlroy and Louis Oosthuizen struggling to finish, I thought, “It’s gonna happen again, Tiger’s gonna win!” This time Rory finished enough to capture the win. Tiger has won many times just because the others couldn’t seem to finish or “close the deal”.

Golf has so many similarities to life. On the PGATour, it’s difficult to win and very difficult to be leading a tournament knowing that Tiger is lurking. There is a particular mindset that sets the winners apart from the others. I believe almost every one of the PGATour players are capable of wining, but what sets the winners apart from the rest of the field. Sometimes players get streaky and win, but most of the players set themselves up to win.

Just like our walk in life, even when we are winning, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8. Just the same when Tiger is in the hunt on the PGA and guys know it, they fumble and it can cost them the tournament. You may have been in a situation recently that involved fighting off the enemy. You were doing well and the next thing you know you fell victim to sin.

Rory still fought his way into victory. He found away to adjust his thinking to recover from his bad shots, to bring home the victory. Many of us fall regularly. Why is that?
It is all about our thinking. The bible says in Psalms 23:7 “As a man thinks, so is he” How are you thinking? Tour players learn to rethink and process the game differently than the average armature. They have to practice differently and train their minds to think differently to achieve the game they are looking for. In the book of Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will.” There is a ton of verbs and nouns to unpack in this verse, but let’s just stick to our theme, renewing our minds.

In order to finish well, we will need to change our thinking. One of the principles that I teach, as well as other teachers of the game, is to have a balanced finish. Think about having a good finish is a key swing thought. Believe it or not, it will help you concentrate on having a good swing when you think of the finish. Now that is going to take time and training to “renew” your mind to think that way.

If you want to have a better finish in your walk with God or just have a better finish in life you will need to begin the discipline of “renewing” your mind and begin filling it with words and healthy situations that will cause your character to grow and become fruitful. Our job as humanity should be to bring goodness and peace to a hurting world. I want to finish well, how about you?