LOST IN A DITCH

LOST IN A DITCH
Tuesday, October 3, 2023 by Linda Wood Rondeau

Categories: devotional

TUESDAY’S TREASURE

With its wooded rough and slanted hills, the fifth hole of the Malone golf course is treacherous enough, but the men’s tee overlooks a steep ditch. My husband set up, misjudged his backswing, and watched in disappointment as his ball hit the top of the ditch and then rolled toward the bottom.

Not wanting to give up on his favorite golf ball, we peered helplessly into the hole. I thought I saw it trapped by a bramble not more than five feet down. As my husband bent down to pick up the ball, he fell head over heels into the belly of the ditch. He was uninjured,

but now the cell phone was somewhere in the tangled brush.

We searched for a while but couldn’t find the phone. It seemed hopeless.

Not one to give up easily, my husband devised a plan. Friends with folks living across the street from the course, he said, “I’m going over to Judy’s house and call the cell. Stay here.”

Simple enough if one has good hearing. I’m directionally challenged when it comes to sound. Watching my step carefully, I headed toward where I thought the ringtone was coming from. I stood in the middle of the knee-deep jungle, about to cry. I could hear the ring but had no clue where the sound came from. Then I felt something underneath my foot. When I looked down, I was elated. There was the cell phone. Clinging to the only support I could find, I picked it up and ambled out of the ditch.

Soon after, we resumed play, being careful to avoid searching for lost balls in deep ravines.

How often do we try to rescue our failed efforts and find ourselves in far worse situations? Fortunately, God does not leave us in the belly of the ditch groping to find solutions by accident. He has provided us with a Counselor, ready and willing to direct our course, even when our feet stray. He is at work within us, regardless of our awareness of Him. As frail humans, we cannot be on our knees or reading the Bible every waking hour. Thankfully, the Spirit’s instruction is not limited to exterior religiosity.

From the mundane to the marvelous and from the disappointing to the delirious, the Holy Spirit admonishes us through everyday life experiences.

While He may use lightning bolts or ear-splitting thunder, more often than not, the Spirit’s revelations are demonstrated in less dramatic form. God spoke to Amos through locusts, fire, a basket of fruit, and a plumb line—common occurrences. God’s visions can be found in anything—a flower, a gentle rain, a child’s surly temperament, or a lost ball in a ditch.

The Spirit of God is not elusive. He uses whatever means is necessary to get our attention. He doesn’t hide in the rough ready to behead us if we go astray. Rather, He stands next to us, pointing out the error of our swing, and providing us with corrective measures. “Next time, don’t rush your backswing. Pray before you tee up, and you’ll fly right over that ditch.”

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

John 14:26 NIV

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