Maybe I\u2019m embellishing his game, but I think my son is as close as he can be to being a pro-golfer. He has excelled at his game and tournament play. On those days, he micro-manages his play. The right clothes, shoes, clubs AND, most importantly \u2013 mindset. When he speaks to a teammate during play, it\u2019s usually not about matters of profound significance. It\u2019s a great escape day from the usual very intense matters of the business he runs. It\u2019s sort of that way when he calls me for a conversation. Rarely do we talk about his business and the stressors in his life. We talk about family and light-hearted moments that bring joy and optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Occasionally a conversation comes up about the political turmoil in our country and the post-election drama. The sheer depressive climate we can create if we let ourselves \u201cgo there\u201d for any length of time at all. I tend to think that allowing ourselves to despair \u2013 be troubled about these times places us smack dab in the middle of not trusting in God\u2019s sovereignty.
.
In the dictionary \u201cdespair\u201d means \u201cthe complete loss or absence of hope.\u201d Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned these words: \u201cAnd in despair I bowed my head; \u2018There is no peace on earth,\u2019 I said; \u2018For hate is strong, and mocks the song of \u201cPeace on earth, good-will to men!” Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep! The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on earth, good-will to men!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every day, we face a myriad of temptations to give up or develop a sour attitude, which can suck the life out of us and those around us. Sickness, loss of someone close to us, divorce, losing a job, rebellious children, addiction, THIS election can cause despair. How do we fight back? One big way is to understand that what Christians know as spiritual warfare is what\u2019s going on in our soul. Going to God\u2019s Word (the Bible) and learning scriptures will soothe our minds and spirits. Thank God, I was ingrained with God\u2019s Word as a child and still am today. It has been my lifeline and when I share what I know from God\u2019s Word to others, it becomes their lifeline, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bible is the written Word of God. It gives us perspective and the truth that God will take care of those who obey and follow Him. The same Bible that comforts us also tells us we must do our part to help ourselves and help those around us, and yes, I believe, help our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the case of America, it would be easy to despair. We have become a nation of mockers and scoffers when it comes to things of God. Psalm 1:1-2 says \u201cBlessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Things might seem bleak right now. But we Christians must keep doing everything we can do to stand for what Jesus called \u201cfor righteousness\u2019 sake\u201d (Matthew 5:10). It\u2019s our service to Him. We must never despair, because God is on His heavenly throne, and He will have the final say on planet Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maybe I\u2019m embellishing his game, but I think my son is as close as he can be to being a pro-golfer. He has excelled at his game and tournament play. On those days, he micro-manages his play. The right clothes, shoes, clubs AND, most importantly \u2013 mindset. When he speaks to a teammate during play,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19089,19091,19092,19090],"tags":[19,14164,19088,19087,19086,19084,695,19085,12713,8545],"class_list":["post-13443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-despair","category-henry-wadsworth-longfellow","category-peace-on-earth","category-political-turmoil","tag-bible","tag-despair","tag-good-will","tag-henry-wadsworth-longfellow","tag-loss-of-hope","tag-micro-manage","tag-peace-on-earth","tag-political-turmoil","tag-righteousness","tag-word-of-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13443"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13443\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13446,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13443\/revisions\/13446"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}