KingdomCome
Don Follis
When God Throws You a Curveball
Swing for the fence
This week's column written by Gene Paik. Don Follis will return next week. Gene is on staff with InterVarsity, most recently as the Housing and Meals Coordinator for Urbana 03. Send feedback to editor@urbana.org.
Did you know that baseball is mentioned in the Bible? You know, “In the Big Inning God created the heavens and the earth.”
After Urbana 03, though, many of you may have experienced another side of baseball from the Creator. Perhaps you’re realizing that God can pitch as well as create, and He doesn’t always throw you the kind of pitch that you expect. Sometimes in life God will throw you a curveball in order to “humble you and to test you in order to know what [is] in your heart, whether or not you [will] keep his commands” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Right now you may feel like you’re getting a lot of curveballs thrown at you. For example, maybe you came to Urbana 03 with a plan for the future, but God changed that plan during the course of the convention. Maybe you left Urbana 03 confident that you knew what God wanted you to do, only to find that doors did not open the way that you had expected them to or people did not respond in the way that you hoped they would. You are left wondering, “What happened, God? Why aren’t things working out the way that they’re supposed to?”
Last weekend I drove to Cleveland to visit my brother and his family. I knew my car had faulty ignition coils, but since the problem seemed to have disappeared, I figured that it was safe to drive it there and back. Getting there was no problem. On Sunday, though, when I left my brother’s house to come home, the engine began shaking. I stopped and looked under the hood, but that didn’t help. At the point of my greatest frustration I shouted a cry of agony and asked the age-old questions, “Why God? Why me? Why now?” I was 450 miles away from home, in an unfamiliar city and in a hurry to get home. This situation made no sense.
In that moment, God spoke to me and said, “You’re right, this doesn’t make sense to you, but it does to me.” God knew where I was vulnerable. He knew what idol I was holding on to that needed to be pried out of my grip. He knew that my car was becoming too precious to me, and that anything wrong with it would make me feel as though the world were coming to an end.
My emotions settled down once I realized that the situation wasn’t as bad as I had first thought. I had a place to stay for the night, money to fix the car, plenty of mechanics to choose from and no actual reason to be home right away. I let go of having to be in control and needing a perfect car, and reminded myself that God was in control and that things would be fine in the end.
What God taught me through all this is that when He throws you a curveball, you have to change what you’re looking for. Just like a good hitter in baseball can adjust to the speed and angle of a curveball, so we as followers of Jesus must adjust to whatever circumstances God gives us. Once we realize that curveballs can be hit too, we need not be afraid of swinging away, making the best of a new and unforeseen situation.
At Urbana 03, many people prayed: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” The very essence of that prayer is a denial of self and an open acceptance of whatever God puts before us. In Psalm 23, David wrote about the curveballs that he had experienced in life, saying, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
Even if your enemies surround you and all your plans fall apart, God is with you. He will protect you, and He will provide for you. When curveballs come, remember to change what you’re looking for. Good things can come out of challenging circumstances.
Print
Email
