My husband is an avid Kansas City Royals fan. It doesn’t matter to him if the team is in last place. He faithfully watches or listens to each game, rooting for the team, cheering them on. Even when they are in the 9th and the score is 17-7, he encourages them on.

He tells me that a good batter will hit once every 4 times at bat; an exceptional batter will hit once every 3 times at bat. Those odds seem rather small to me, but I got to wondering about God sitting in the grandstands watching me batting at life. How many times do I “strike out” ?

God watches over me, encouraging me, shouting from the sidelines “You can do it BearyAnn. Concentrate. Focus. Swing”. I am afraid my hits at bat in life are probably once in 25. As my coach God hugs me, tells me to shrug it off and get ready for the next inning. He reminds me of His love, His sacrifice. I go to the play book, the Bible, where He guides me through each stage.

The next inning in my life comes up. I take the bat in hand, look at the pitcher, glance at my coach, and I get ready. I swing and hit the balll high, I start to run, and get tagged out at first. Next up to bat, I swing hit, this time I get on base. God is standing at the base telling me to concentrate and follow His lead.

As I continue to follow Him, I will strike out, I will get a walk, and once in a while I will hit one for the Lord. But no matter what happens, He is beside me all the time, he will never leave me. With God, I am always in First Place.

“I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” I Corinthian 9:23-25