Baseball
For better or for worse I am a devoted Astro Fan. And each night they play I try to either watch them or keep track by phone of the game in progress.
As I thought through this and how baseball could relate to my walk with the Lord, I came up with this personal analogy. As far as pitching, you never know what is gonna be thrown your way in life.
The curve ball: is one that we think is headed on path and then it suddenly deviates and curves in direction.…like plans that we make and how the expected course is quickly changed to the unexpected.
The fast ball: something that comes at us fast giving us little time to think through something or to prepare for a probable outcome. The change up…an off-speed pitch that looks like a fast ball but comes in a bunch slower and requires us to rethink our expectations. Expectations are man-made and often times our expectations do not line up with God’s will.
God allows the diversity of the pitches that are thrown in to our lives. And if we are willing and patient he will teach us a little something from each of them.
Batting; balls thrown our way...either a ball or a strike. We are at bat each morning of each day not knowing what is to come our way. And as I have heard it often said, the best batters are the ones who hold the bat loosely because it increases power and bat speed. “Your loose muscles are fast, and when you swing a baseball bat, there are millions of fast-twitch muscles that make the bat whip through the air.”I love this quote because if we hold life loosely and let God be in control, that is where those little fast twitch muscles of faith go into motion and we will find our success.
But too many times we try too hard to manage what is thrown our way ourselves instead of asking God to direct our swings. Therein often lies frustration, anxiety and even anger. There will be times when we whiff, when we sacrifice, when we get on base and even times when we hit a homerun but each time we get up to bat we are given an opportunity to do our best and be our best. Yes disappointment will sometimes send us back to the dugout but there God will be also to encourage us with his grace, in spite of defeat and give us the courage to get up and stand boldly again at the plate and defend it.
And finally we get to the fielders… what is their job? To play defense...and we too are called to battle for good over evil. Fly balls and pop ups that we have to stay focused on and catch before they hit ground…those are the things that are up in the air, the ones we are working through, the ones that are out of our reach, and the ones we have to have patience with until we are able to grasp them and put them out of play.
The grounders…the everyday life trials that are hit right toward us and sometimes just go right by us becasue they are coming too fast and we are not in a position to field them. That is when teammates are there to back us up and remind us that God will help us get through the inning.
God is an invisible barrier that helps us keep our emotions at bay.so we can glove the trial before us in confidence.
Wall balls: ones that hit the wall and cause all kinds of mischief and are hard to capture. When you feel like you have hit a wall…unlike the necessary baseball attempt to hurry, grab and throw…That is when we reach with faithful intent to act according to what we have learned through experience; that God can/will conquer even our roughest life scenarios and never leave us stranded.
Regarding homeruns…they will always be over the head homers…and we just need to let em go…nothing we can do …but kiss em goodbye and let them fly in the past. Some things are just completely out of bounds for us to be able to work with, and those things we must release to the mighty hands of God. And lastly, the catcher…one of the teams crucial players; for he remains always a factor of God’s faithful oversight…and loves and protects the soul of your home base.
Baseball is just a game…there are winners and losers, but each of us who confesses our belief and love for Jesus Christ will always be a winner…for the game of life is in God’s hands and so are we. God is watching always when we are at bat or in the field...he will give us the wisdom and strength to do our best if we only keep focused on him and not so much on circumstances. For it is in HIM that we find our true grit, our peace and our joy....the only score we should be keeping is how much faith we are building with each new day.
We must strive to work and play as a team and trust the gifts and talents God has blessed us with so that we can help others when we can and accept and appreciate help when it is needed and offered.
May we be confident in the fact that God is working through each of us so that we will have a desire to contribute to the team that is before us...in truth, encouragement, prayer, love and grace.Our team includes not just family and friends but those helpers throughout our days, our neighbors, our communities....and prayers most of all for our country.
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in...for his Glory will shine through!
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