What a joy to watch the Masters with all of the intriguing stories and incredible players, yet what jumps out to me is the atmosphere of pressure that permeates throughout the tournament. There’s no denying that every golfer feels some level of pressure when they show up to Augusta.

With more eyes on the players during the Masters, there’s a heightened intensity and with the allure of the tournament, there’s a stronger desire to win. Also, each player carries their own burdens onto the tee box and feels a personal weight on their shoulders when standing over a putt on the green.

Former Masters champion, Jordan Spieth, had a good tournament but has the pressure to return to his previous winning ways.

On the other hand, Brooks Koepka feels the weight of never winning the Masters, despite finishing second in 2019 and having four other Major Championship wins.

Dustin Johnson had the pressure to follow up his Masters’ win in 2020, but greatly struggled this time around and missed the cut.

That gets me to this year’s Masters champion, Hideki Matsuyama, who overcame the pressure of having the lead heading into Sunday by finishing at -10 to win his first Green Jacket.

He also became the first Japanese man to win a major, and while other players were carrying the weight of winning the tournament for their families or themselves or even their sponsors, Matsuyama felt the weight of his whole country rooting him on.

However, even when he hit a bad shot at 15 that went in the water, he got back on track and finished with the win.

Every golfer that steps foot on the hallowed grounds of Augusta is fighting an emotional and mental battle not to let the pressure or burdens negatively affect their game.

The ones who thrive under pressure and play free and light, despite the weight that’s been placed on them, are the ones who find themselves in a position to win.

The Masters is hard to win. The course is challenging and the competition is fierce. But the ones who have the right approach and mentality, understand how to deal with the pressure, know how to overcome bad shots and play with ease, are the ones who win.

They still have the pressure, yet it doesn’t lead them to be overwhelmed, distracted, or stressed out.

Most of us aren’t attempting to sink a putt with our whole country watching us, but every day we wake up with pressure and burdens. We feel the weight of responsibility at work, as parents, as spouses, and as people living in a broken world.

There’s no denying that life is hard and pressure is unavoidable, so instead of pretending like it’s not there, we need to embrace it and deal with it properly.

What if instead of being overwhelmed, distracted, and stressed out, we thrived under pressure and were the ones who lived free and light, finding ourselves in a position to win?

Thankfully, when Jesus died and rose again, He took the ultimate pressure off of us by dying on our behalf and taking on the burden of sin. We don’t have to feel the pressure to earn salvation based on our own merits.

He offers us His free gift of grace and invites us to follow Him and be committed to His way.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP), “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.”

John Mark Comer in his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, writes, “He offers his apprentices a whole new way to bear the weight of our humanity: with ease. At his side. Like two oxen in a field, tied shoulder to shoulder. With Jesus doing all the heavy lifting.”

Life is hard, the “course” is challenging, and the competition for our hearts and souls is fierce, but the ones who rely on Jesus are the ones who win. We have the right approach, mentality, and understanding of how to deal with the pressure, overcome bad shots, and live with peace because He’s right there with us.

Since we are connected to Him, He’s available to shoulder the load, carry our burdens, and bear the weight so we can live life free and light because it’s with Him. He strengthens, empowers, and helps us overcome whatever is attempting to weigh us down.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know life is hard and pressures and burdens are always attempting to weigh me down. I pray that I’d take Jesus up on His invitation to truly live life His way and with Him carrying the load. I pray I’d stop trying to live life in my own strength. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

1. What pressures and burdens tend to weigh you down?

2. What changes should you make to your approach to life so you can live with the ease of knowing Jesus is willing to carry the weight?