The U.S. Open’s Final Round leaderboard was loaded with big-name golfers yesterday. Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, and Scottie Scheffler were in the mix to win, but it was the steady Wyndham Clark who earned his first major win. With Clark's best major finish being 75th previously, his story proves to be captivating - especially with the impressive way he pulled through to victory. After a birdie on the 14th hole, Clark held a three-stroke lead and was pulling away, but then hit back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th hole giving him only a one-stroke lead. He finished the round with pars on the 17th and 18th and held on to the win by finishing -10 with Rory at -9. The course got tougher as the weekend went on, but Clark was able to shoot a par-70 on Sunday, which included amazing shots to save par on multiple holes. Even his bogey on the par-five eighth demonstrated how Clark has what it takes to overcome the challenges of a U.S. Open. He knows how to respond to bad shots, make the most of being in the rough, and keep going after losing a stroke. Golf writer, Brody Miller from The Athletic, provided this perspective: “This particular tournament has always been more about when you don’t have it, when your driver is going wide left and your irons aren’t hitting clean and you just bogeyed two in a row. "It’s the major most determined by how you respond when your ball is buried in the fescue and you are fully prepared to throw your club, of how you respond when confidence is shaken. "That is U.S. Open golf, and on a Sunday in which seemingly the entire golf world pleaded for McIlroy to recover on the back nine and overtake the usurper Clark, the latter won it by those moments in which he didn’t have his best stuff.” Clark shined and was able to come out on top because of how he responded amid the holes he was weak on. He didn't allow the frustration of a bad shot to derail him...or his emotions to take over and cost him his focus...or the pressure of leading a major to become too much. When he was struggling or in a weak spot and his round could have unraveled, Clark responded with a strong next shot. When it comes to our own lives, we know what it’s like when we “don’t have it” or don't have it in us to keep going, and our “irons aren’t hitting clean,” and we “just bogeyed two in a row.” We find ourselves in a slump where it feels like nothing is going our way at the moment or our mistakes are piling up. We can relate to the frustration that starts to bubble up when we “hit a horrible shot,” make a bad decision, or fall into temptation once again. When we find ourselves struggling or in a weak spot and don’t understand how “our ball ended up buried in the fescue,” it just makes us want to “throw our club.” As followers of Jesus, how do we make the most of “being in the rough” and “keep going after losing a stroke”? How do we respond when our “confidence is shaken” and it seems like we don’t have our “best stuff” and we’re on the verge of everything unraveling? We admit our brokenness and weaknesses and understand our need for God’s strength to take over as we surrender to Him. What He tells Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (AMP) offers us tremendous encouragement: “…’My grace is sufficient for you ; for power is being perfected in weakness.’” Paul then responds, “Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. So I am well pleased with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, and with difficulties, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak , then I am strong .” Believe it or not, we are at our best when we aren’t at our best. For when we are weak, then we are strong. It’s through Christ in the midst of our “weak holes” we can respond with “a strong next shot.” It’s in those moments when “we don’t have our best stuff” (on our own) we demonstrate why we are victorious...we rely on His strength. This transformative realization parallels what Miller wrote in The Athletic: “Clark’s entire career is about finding somewhere to land when you’re spiraling, making him an ideal fit for the major where it matters how you play when you don’t have your best stuff.” Today, as followers of Jesus, we land in Him and stay grounded in Him. Although things might be spiraling around us, with Christ and His power, we can remain focused when negative emotions threaten to take over, and we don’t have to succumb to the pressures of life when they attempt to weigh us down. Like the Psalmist, let’s confidently cry out, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” Psalm 73:26 (NLT) I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I'm so weak on my own and in desperate need of Your strength and Your grace. Thank you for meeting me in my brokenness and allowing Your power to shine through. Please help me continue to endure and persevere as I trust You. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR PACKS:
In what ways have you seen God strengthen you during your weak moments?
In what ways have you tried to rely on your own strength and failed?
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