Tiger Woods did something on Sunday that most thought he would never do. He won a major golf tournament by winning the Masters in Augusta, Ga. This was his first Masters win in over 11 years and his fifth Masters win all time. Only Jack Nicklaus has one more Masters than Tiger Woods with six wins.
Upon winning, the sports announcer for the televised event said, “This is Tiger’s return to glory.” That statement struck a chord in me and reminded me of 2 Corinthians 4:17 which says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
Most of us remember the tremendous downfall of Tiger Woods when he was at the top of the mountain of the golf world. He went through national shame and disgrace. He suffered through many injuries. He suffered from mental and psychological. He was ridiculed by many who said his career was over. But today he is back on top of the mountain from which he once fell so tragically.
There is a lesson for all of us believers in what happened in Augusta, Ga. In life, we all suffer from downfalls and disappointments. Some of us suffer because of our own doing. But we have an advantage that Tiger, given his religion as a Buddist, did not have. We have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
I have been in a similar situation as Tiger with regard to shame and disgrace. My shame and disgrace was not as widely known as Tiger Woods but is was just as devastating to me. What Tiger showed us on Sunday was to never give up on our dreams and to never give up on our faith. In order to never give up on either, you must keep striving despite the naysayers. You must keep striving despite your own mistakes while you are striving. You must keep striving despite what it looks like.
A lot of people left Tiger, but we have one person who promised to never leave us. We have one person who will be with us even unto the end. We have one person who is always making intercession for us. We have one person who actually died for us. All of that is enough for any of us to keep striving, keep fighting, keep moving forward. For there is a glory in us, both on earth and in heaven that has yet to be revealed.