This week’s devotional is a thoughtful contribution from Austin Wilson, a friend of the Bibles & Baseball team. Drawing from his experiences in baseball, Austin encourages us to stretch our faith beyond our own limits and trust in something greater than ourselves.

First Step Back

Ever since we started playing baseball there were some fundamentals that we had to learn. We can think of our coaches harping on these ideas over and over to us. It seems like every practice they would remind us of doing these little things that help win us games in the future. One of those fundamentals that we have engraved in our minds, is when a batter hits a pop fly, your first step is always back. The old saying goes that it is a lot easier to run forward than it is backwards.

However, the exact opposite is true with our faith. When we have an obstacle that we see coming at us whether it be a: trial, sickness, tragedy or even a temptation our first step can be forward because of Jesus. When we have Christ on our side we don’t have to take a step back to retreat from that obstacle but we can go straight at it! We can go to God in prayer and know that He will hear us and help us during that time of need! Hebrews 4:16 tells us “Therefore let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace for help at the time of our need.”

Wow! How awesome is that! We know when tough times come that we can go to God with confidence because He is there for us! Just like Paul said in Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”

So next time there is something that makes you nervous, gives you anxiety or even scares you; don’t step away from it but step towards God in prayer and He will help you through it!