Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Mastering The Moment by David Neeley
In February 2010, Tiger Woods infidelities drove him to
make a public statement. The networks
vied to get an interview. People who had
never stepped on a course watched coverage on the Golf Channel. I bet their ratings were never higher and
probably haven’t been as high since.
In making his statement, Tiger allowed one reporter in
the room. He took no questions – he read
what he wrote, apologized to his wife, mother, fans and sponsors and went his
way. The media fumed about not being
allowed to ask questions or have direct access to him. As the commentators became more upset, one of
them remarked that this was vintage Tiger Woods – controlling the moment. He brought up several examples of how, under
incredibly stressful conditions, Tiger displayed his legendary ability to block
out distraction and focus. He concluded
with video and commentary of the 2008 U.S. Open Sudden Death match with Rocco
Mediate.
In June 2008, with millions of dollars on the line, cameras
caught close-ups of Tiger wincing as pain arced through his face. His hobbled walk was noticeable from the far
gallery as he approached the final green.
In contrast, Mediate walked confidently.
Unknown to everyone at the time, Tiger had a torn ligament in his left
knee and a double stress fracture in his left leg.
When Tiger’s shot came, the breath of the crowd thronged
feet away, electric pain burned his leg, camera’s whirred, and millions of
people stared – Tiger stepped out – blocked out the distractions –putted – and
won the match!
Saying that moment was no different than the moment of
his statement, the commentator asked why anyone was surprised Tiger blocked the
media. “This is vintage Tiger Woods controlling
the moment,” said the reporter. And though
I disapproved of his choices, I watched the rest of Tiger’s coverage
impressed. Here was a man that seemed in
control while chaos-confetti flew around him.
I don’t imagine he ever thought he would be in the position he was in
but he seemed prepared. He didn’t seem
panicked and he wasn’t running like a coward.
Then, it hit me… if Tiger, a Buddhist, a man who does not
acknowledge Christ could be strong and courageous enough to control his moment,
how much more could I do because of Christ who lives in me??? The more I thought about it the more excited
I became – the Bible says that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the
world (1 John 4:4.) John 14:12 says that
whoever believes in Christ will be able to do the works He did and even greater
works than those! God used Tiger’s situation
to reveal more of Himself to me and gave me the phrase, “Master the Moment!”
I define a “Moment” as an intensely emotional response
lasting a space of time wherein the sanctified, renewed mind is so assaulted
and overruled that the Christian is in peril of disobeying God, losing
righteousness and sinning. These Moments
can last from a split second to months or even years!
Often, the Moments we come across are sudden and
unexpected. Still, just as often, we can
anticipate a moment in advance. For
instance, you KNOW how intense your feelings are, good or bad, when certain
subjects come up. As a matter of fact,
sometimes you even know the date, time, and location and people that will
create the next challenging Moment for you – I know I do!
Knowing that God is able to help me Master the Moment, I
asked Him two things – what stops me from Mastering the Moment and what do I
need to do in order to Master the Moment?
Here’s what I heard Him say… things that stop us from
Mastering the Moment are too numerous to count.
However, they all have one thing in common; they block the thoughts that
show we love God with ALL our heart, soul and strength and love our neighbors
as we love ourselves. That is what stops
us from Mastering the Moment. The
second answer is simple too, in order to Master the Moment, both sudden and
anticipated, we must prepare in advance.
Preparation for the Moment is living a Christian
lifestyle. This includes a CONSISTENT
and SINCERE pattern of 1) Daily Bible reading, 2) Prayer, 3) Worship, 4)
Fasting, 5) Meditation, 6) Christian Service, 7) Fellowship, and 8) Giving of
Tithes and Offering.
This is NOT a magic formula! Instead, with a heart that truly wants to
hear God and obey Him, doing the eight behaviors above will position you to do
just that – hear from God so you can obey Him! Even better, when we obey God we can boldly
growl the answer, “NOT YOU!,” to Romans 8:28-31 at our spiritual enemies! And no matter what Moment we may find
ourselves in, we can rest confidently in His promise, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah
29:11!
I pray you are encouraged and ALWAYS
preparing to Master the Moment!
David Neeley is dedicated to ministering to and supporting
men as they mature in Christian faith. In
2007 he founded God’s 300, a men’s ministry group based on Judges 7 dedicated
to showing the parallels between physical and spiritual fitness through
exercise and small group discussion.
God’s .300 believes a spiritually and physically fit man is
better able to serve God and be a resource for his family than the version of
himself that is not as spiritually and physically fit. In this sense, there is no cause for enmity
between men. As he focuses on his
relationship with God, a man only competes against himself. If these words ring true to you, then you too
are G300!
David graduated from Mercer University, is a Desert Storm
veteran and lives with his wife, Shana, in Charlotte, North Carolina
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