Delay Your Hands

I’ve only played one nine hole round of golf in my whole life, so it’s safe to say I’m no expert on the game. But my dad and sister play a lot. I overhear their conversations and my sister tells me all about the new things she’s learning. Every time she tells me something about her swing I see a parallel to how we walk with the Lord in life.

Well today my dad was telling my sister that he needs to “delay his hands” in his swing. He said the different between the amateur player and a professional is that the professionals always delay their hands. Now I don’t know what this means exactly, but delaying your hands apparently builds up power so that when you hit the ball it flies farther, straighter and looks easy.

His words stuck with me and I had to wonder, “Do I ever delay my hands?”

There are many little children in my house and a common thing for children is to ask if you can touch something after you’re already touching it. They didn’t delay their hands; they reached right out and started touching without permission.

How often do I do that? The Lord tells me something and instead of being patient to see the thing unfold, I immediately stick my hands in there and try to make it happen. I don’t delay my hands, they’re the first thing I shove in so that I can try and control the situation. Then I wonder why things go so terribly?

My sister has said that you can hit golf balls on the driving range and they look and feel beautiful, but it’s a lot harder to take that to the course. Suddenly you’re not just hitting balls you’re trying to make them go in the hole. In the process you abandon the things you’ve learned on the driving range and fall back into old swing habits because the new way seems unpredictable and risky. Why are the professionals so good? Because they can take what they learn on the driving range and use it on the course.

Our life is like golf, and we are going to get the ball in the hole, one way or another. It’s our decision though; will we try and control our ball? Hitting it left and right, in the trees and in the water? Or will we delay our hands and trust His timing to be just right. The giants of the faith, who have played this golf game of life before us, have proven it true, that those who delay their hands, build up power as they rest in His timing, and when they hit the ball, it goes farther, straighter, and somehow… they make it look easy.