I recently attended a music conference in Spartanburg with Christian Supply (a wonderful company, by the way!). On Friday morning Dave Clark, an arranger and composer, told a wonderful little story about his grandson, and of course, it had a point. I want to share it because it is resonating with me right now.
He told us about playing baseball with his very young grandson . . . this is baseball with the giant, fat bat. You know the one: small handle for little hands but huge end so a tiny fellow who is still working on eye-hand contact can actually hit the ball. Well, Dave pitched to his grandson once, and the boy missed. He pitched again, and the boy swung even harder but missed a second time. He pitched a third time, and you guessed it: missed again. Finally, Dave walked over the child, helped him find a good stance, showed him where to hold the bat, and then said: "Just hold the bat still. Don't swing." Being a good grandparent, Dave pitched the plastic ball directly at that fat bat, throwing with more force than before, and behold! It was a hit! The child immediately ran the bases and celebrated. He didn't care that his grandfather did the "hitting"; he only knew that he was finally successful and he got to run around in victory. So what does this say about our lives today?
In Zechariah 4, the prophet Zechariah told Zerubbabel: " . . . not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit . . ." And this was Dave Clark's point: sometimes we need to hold our bat still and quit trying to knock one out of the park. We need to get the right stance, stand still, and let God do our hitting. Not our power but His. Thanks, Dave, for giving me an image that I need today, but I think there's even more.
I am a do-er. I always think I need to be getting the to-do list finished . . . checked off, but sometimes God just needs me to stand still and let Him do what only He can do in His power. He needs me to wait on Him. In Isaiah 40:31, we are told this: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." That's a powerful Word from Isaiah. Sometimes we just need to stand in the batter's box of life and wait on God -- rest in Him and renew our strength so we can run the bases when His victory comes. We don't have to be weary; in fact, we can soar around those bases when we have rested in God. But I want to suggest something even further: just like that little boy had to let his grandfather put him into the right stance so he could wait properly, we need to learn the proper stance for waiting, and the instructions are in His Word. Our stance? praying, praising, trusting, and waiting patiently. We don't just wait passively. We wait with expectation, knowing that our prayers will be answered by the Great Pitcher. We wait with praise, thanking our Coach for all the things He has already taught us and done for us. We wait with trust, knowing that He will never steer us in the wrong direction. And we wait patiently . . . that's the hard one sometimes, and yet, in His Word, it says that His timing is always perfect. And so? We wait, and in the waiting, we renew our strength to run the bases in victory, knowing that when God gives us a "hit," it's His victory, and we get to celebrate His allowing us to be a part of the win.
Today and in the coming days, I hope, like me, you will choose to be on God's team. Allow Him, through His power . . . not your power or might . . . to do what only He can accomplish. The World Series will pale in comparison to the victories you will have when you step into the batter's box, hold your stance, and let God do your hitting. And in those victories? God will let us run the bases and throw a party, and He will be glorified. Doesn't get much better than that. It think it's what they call a win-win situation!
Thanks, Dave Clark, for an object lesson I will never forget. And thanks, God, for being faithful to give me a Word . . . manna for today.
No comments:
Post a Comment