Keep Swinging!

Know what a bullpen is? It’s the part of the baseball stadium where all the pitchers warm up, waiting for their turn in the game. But beyond that physical location, the bullpen also refers to the roster of relief pitchers, each patiently waiting for a turn in the spotlight. As sports fans know, it usually goes something like this: The starting pitcher goes as long as possible in the game, trying to strike out as many opposing batters as possible. But should things take a bad turn, that starter is replaced by a fresh pitcher from the bullpen. And the idea is to have a full roster of waiting pitchers, each brought in for a strategic purpose. In fact, certain batters are paired with certain pitchers, to ensure a strikeout.

I said all that to say this: Do you lately feel like you’ve been standing at the plate, facing pitcher after pitcher, and mostly striking out? No home runs or getting on base, but just swinging in the wind? Just as in baseball, we have someone in this life who continues to throw things at us, time and time again. And when one pitcher is tired, another takes his place, keeping up the pressure on us. But the good news here is that God doesn’t let us strike out! In a baseball game it only takes three strikes to sit you down, but in life God doesn’t stop there! In fact, he’s like a patient coach who also owns the baseball stadium. In effect, he says, “Nope, he’s not through yet. I’m going to make sure we get a home run here. Son, you just keep swinging until you get a hit. I’ve got your back.” Did you get that? God says, “Keep swinging until you get a hit.” With help like that, how can we lose? Let’s wrap it up with this: Whose score are you keeping up with today - the bullpen’s score or God’s score?

If God is for us, who can be against us? We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
- Romans 8:31, 37 (NIV)