31 The words of King Lemuel, the [a]oracle which his mother taught him:
2 What, O my son?
And what, O son of my womb?
And what, O son of my vows?
3 Do not give your strength to women,
Or your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
It is not for kings to drink wine,
Or for rulers to desire strong drink,
5 For they will drink and forget what is decreed,
And pervert the [b]rights of all the [c]afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing,
And wine to him [d]whose life is bitter.
7 Let him drink and forget his poverty
And remember his trouble no more.
8 Open your mouth for the mute,
For the [e]rights of all the [f]unfortunate.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And [g]defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.
I was watching a round of disc golf last night, it was the last round, and it was quite the battle. Except for one of the guys, everything seemed to be working against him. He made a couple of clutch shots, but once his disc rolled 50+ feet out of bounds after hitting the basket. After about hole 12 (of 18), it was evident that he had no shot at winning, and you could tell he had given up, much like the folks described in this passage.
Lemuel’s mother advised him against indulging in strong drink, because it dulls your senses, and makes for poor judgment. Especially for a king, those are not good outcomes. But, she says, for the dying man, or the one who has lost all hope, drink and remember no more.
Funny thing about disc golf though (and “normal” golf), you don’t have to win the tournament to win cash. Further, the amount of cash they win depends on how well they finish. Every position lost or gained is cash won or lost. So when the odds of winning the tournament seem all but gone, there are two reactions I’ve seen. Some just give up in frustration, and stop fighting, much like the one “whose life is bitter”.
Yet some dig deep, and keep fighting, and crazy things happen in disc golf. They may not win the tournament, but they will likely find themselves earning a few thousand dollars more because they stuck with it. There’s an amazing thing about real life though, that is even better than disc golf. In the game, winnings are based on position and the final ranking.
But with God, position is irrelevant. We all come to Him broken and hurting, and receive more than we deserve, far more. Life is not a game anyone should lose, when God is ready and waiting to make you a winner. Maybe “winner” seems a strange word to use, but what else do you call becoming royalty, a literal child of the Most High King, the one who created the Universe?
Not only that, but He calls us to live life to the full, and He joins us in that walk. I was just reading a story of a young mother who wanted some homemade bread for her dinner guests. But she was still nursing her fifth child, and simply couldn’t find the time. But God did! He cared enough to have a friend make her a loaf of bread and leave it on her porch.
No one knew her need except God, and though a loaf of bread might seem trivial, He cared. God cares about that and so much more. So when you are tempted to throw in the towel, when nothing seems to be going your way, remember that God is on your side, working things out for the best. Not just “good enough”, He knows exactly what is best, and will provide it when you put your trust in Him.