“I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” (I Corinthians 11:23b-33 NLT)
Whatever life throws at you, you can handle it because the Lord is on your side. Let’s start with an analogy or two.
In major league baseball, the average number of pitches per game is 146. The catcher, stooped down, knees bent, positioned between the umpire and the batter has to catch every type of pitch that the pitcher throws at him. Think about it! He has to catch fastballs, curve balls, sliders, knuckleballs, changeups, off speed pitches, forkballs, screwballs cutters, and splitters, to name a few. Whatever the pitcher throws, he must catch. The catcher has a great responsibility and considering more than one pitcher is used in a game, the catcher handles the game ball more than any other player on the team. Again, whatever the pitcher throws, he must catch.
One more analogy, actually a true story. I have a friend who was a two star athlete in little league and high school. While he is best known for his record-setting performances as a wide-receiver playing football at the collegiate level, he was a great catcher too, going back to the days of little league. Like the major league catcher, he had to catch whatever the pitcher threw at him. The catcher who is in the age bracket of 15-18 years old catches between 95-105 pitches. Back in those little league days, some of the variety of pitches did not have the names that they have today in MLB, but that did not matter, whatever the pitcher threw, the catcher had to catch it.
These two analogies, plus the testimony of Paul above, lets us know that life will throw a variety of things at us. But whatever life throws, we don’t have to worry about it! God’s got us! Everything will work out for good! Maybe this will help you and me at the time in our lives when life throws something we were not expecting to come our way. I hope so it is helpful. God be with us, whatever comes our way. Be blessed!
“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31b-39 NIV)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King