(Chapter 2) Life Using the Analogy of Baseball, Inning Two

This post is a continuation of the baseball analogy that I started in the previous entry. It’s amazing to see the number of similarities we find when comparing baseball and life in general. Let’s take a look at a few more:

Baseball – Disappointments:
The situation I described in the previous post regarding the Cardinals and the Mets is a great example of disappointments in baseball. Do you remember what I described? (Cardinals were ahead 2 to 0, ninth inning, 2 outs on the Mets. The Cardinals commit 2 costly blunders and the Mets win 5 to 2.)  There were lots of disappointments over that turn of events. The Cardinals however, never gave up, and have won 2 out of the next 3 games. If they had continued to allow their disappointment to control them, they could have easily lost all of the last 3 games.

Life – Disappointments:

I’m sure we have all had disappointments in life that the devil has tried to use against us. Maybe we gave in to the pressure and allowed ourselves to say, “Why even try anymore?” Hopefully, we came against the devil and moved on in the power of the Holy Spirit! Here is what the Bible says regarding disappointments:

1 Peter 5:8-11 (ESV)
⁸ Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
⁹ Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹ To him be the dominion forever and ever.

Psalm 34:17-18 (ESV)
¹⁷ When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Baseball – Practice, Practice, Practice:

In baseball as in all other endeavors, practice means repetition; doing it the correct way over and over again! One of the players that made an error in my Cardinals example, was out on the field after the other players had gone home, practicing that play numerous times. His attitude was positive. He was determined not to make that same error again!

Life – Practice, Practice, Practice:

In life, what does it mean to practice? Just like the baseball player above, are we willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to become all we can be in the Lord? It will take dedication, determination and effort on our part to become all the Lord desires us to be.

– It means spending time in His Word, the Bible. We learn from the Creator of life, how to live life to the fullest. It’s not enough to say, “I read the Bible all the way through once.” We need to read it over and over and over as we grow proficient in God’s Word!

– It means spending time in prayer. Stop and think about this for a moment. Through prayer, we have the opportunity to converse with the Creator of the universe. Prayer is not just asking Him for things, it’s spending time talking to Him and listening to His still, small voice.

– It means spending time with like-minded people. Making the effort to learn from each other, challenge each other and hold each other accountable.

Matthew 7:7-8 (ESV)
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Galatians 6:9 (NIV)
⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

– Stay tuned for inning 3 in the next post. Be blessed and Batter Up! –