The Curveball

So last month in my devo I complained about the summer heat. I suppose that was wrong of me, after all, summer is supposed to be hot. The heat is just a part of it, a sign of the season. And if high temperatures are fixture of summer, there are many others as well: no school, popsicles, block-parties, fireworks, vacations, and my favorite... baseball! I love baseball. I love going to stadiums and watching teams play on TV. I watch games every chance I get. And although I cannot possibly see every game... there is one game I never miss... the All-Star Game. Did you catch the last one? It happened several weeks back and once again the National League emerged victorious (they’re just now making up for all those losses to the American League). For a baseball fan, it doesn’t get any better than the All-Star Game... the game’s greatest players all in one place, showcasing their incredible skills. And as much as love the “sluggers” going up to bat and knocking ‘em out of the park, I enjoy, just as much, watching the pitchers. I really admire them and their ability to throw a ball with such precision. Fastballs, sinkers, sliders, and of course, the curveball. Many an “All-Star” have succumb to that nasty pitch. So, what’s the point of the curveball? Pitchers use this pitch to confuse the hitter, to get them to chase after something, and to ultimately strike them out. I think that’s a great metaphor for what the enemy, Satan, does to us. The curveball is thrown, we’re deceived, caught off guard, and it’s over. We’ve struck out.

When the enemy throws us a curveball we can try our hardest to make it work. Fake ourselves out. Pray. Seek advice. But the pitches that were once “straight-down-the-middle-of-the-plate” fastballs turn into something fierce and we’re left swinging away. You know what I mean by curveballs, right? Those things that happen in life that seem to come out of nowhere; break-ups, failures, mistakes, tragedies, health scares, things that make it seem like it’s all over. Yet, sometimes a new beginning is disguised as a curveball because the outcome of the game belongs to God. Times of failure don’t catch God off guard. Nothing takes Him by surprise. He doesn’t panic or worry. He doesn’t give up or throw in the towel... all things that we are inclined to do from time to time. As cliché and Sunday-School-ish as this sounds, it’s true... with God on our team, we can’t possibly lose the game! Like Paul says in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, than who can be against us?” If God is on our side, what possibly could stop Him from coming through? Even when we strike out, we’re not out of the game... for nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). Happy August!