Rest in the Lord,
and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth
in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. 8 Cease
from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9 For
evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord,
they shall inherit the earth. –Psalm 37:7-9 (KJV)
Baseball season is now in full swing and
with it comes my annual dilemma. My problem is I love to watch
baseball, but lack the time to watch entire games. Being from
Dayton, Ohio makes me a lifelong fan of the Cincinnati Reds. Many
of my fondest childhood memories are of going to games at the old River
Front Stadium, which has been gone for many years now. My older
brother, Tom, can recall going to games with our father at the old Crosley
Field, it too is long gone, where the players would sometimes hit homeruns
out of the park and into the parking lot. Yes, I love to watch
a good baseball game, especially if the Reds are playing. The
problem, however, is my schedule seldom permits me this luxury.
Perhaps I will throw you a curveball (no
pun intended), and pose a baseball trivia question. Who is the
youngest player ever to play in the majors? While you are thinking
about this I will give you a hint. He was only 15 years old at
the time and he played for the Reds. On June 10, 1944 he only
pitched a few innings of one game, which the Reds lost (they were already
losing), yet that is a tremendous accomplishment for such a young player.
This young man was called up at the last minute, pitched a few innings,
and was then taken out of the game. He didn’t pitch another
major league game for several more years, but he went on to a successful
career with the Reds.
I am trying to get my mind around the pressure
he must have faced. I wonder if was fretting as he stepped up
to the pitcher’s mound? While few of us know what it’s like
to play for the majors. We do know all about fretting. This is
the awful process of not being able to concentrate on anything because
we cannot let go of a problem we are facing. God said in His Word
that fretting is never what we should do. We should not fret,
for it leads only to evil. If we fret, we are liable to take our
eyes off of the Lord, which in turn may cause us to launch off on our
own way and out of God’s will.
We are always better off trusting Christ
and walking forward in faith no matter the circumstances. The
next time you feel problems closing in take time to pray and claim God’s
promise that He is always with us and will not forsake us (Matthew 28:20).
God has a plan for our lives. Our best response to the trials
of life is to wait upon the Lord and trust Him at all times.
Now, the answer to my trivia question; the
player’s name was Joe Knuxhall, and if you visit the Great American
Ballpark in Cincinnati you will find a statue in his memory. Great
faith requires courage and commitment. God is in control.
God bless you today.
