You Gotta Believe Baby!

It is here!  The World Series is coming to a Ball Park near you!  The Rangers and the Cardinals will square off in this year's Fall Classic.  It is tough to predict who will win, who will get hot and hit six home runs in a series (a la Cruz) and who will throw a shut out for nine innings.  Baseball is unpredictable and that is why they actually play the games.  For instance, with a month left in the season, the Cardinals were 9 games out of the wild card playoff birth and did not actually win a play off spot until the last day of the season when the Braves lost and they won.   Yet two playoff series later, the Cardinals are playing for a world championship.   That's why they play the games.  The unpredictable can happen.   The under dog can win.  The big hitter can strike out.  The slumping hitter can get hot.  You never know what can happen when a team starts to believe in themselves and each other.

Let's hope that last year's World Series was simply an introduction for the Rangers and that this year's series is our first world championship!  You gotta believe baby!  That's a good motto!  Most baseball players are typically superstitious.  If something works for them, like wearing an old t-shirt under their jersey during a game, then they wear that shirt until it no longer works.  If blowing a bubble before an at bat works, then they do it every time there after because it worked once.  In the game of baseball you cling to that which works, but there is no substitution for believing in yourself and your team.

Philippians 4:13 reminds us that with God all things are possible.  "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  In order to meet our goals, fulfill God's mission and win in the game of life, what we may need most is a simple belief that we can actually do it!  Of course, we do all things in God's strength.  But note that ALL things are possible when we do them in HIS strength.   God does fulfill His mission through us as we make ourselves available to be used by Him.  But in order to meet our mission, we need to believe more in each other just as we need to believe more in our selves.

 Let me offer you these words of encouragement in whatever opportunity or challenge you face today,  "You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength."  Suppose you lived each day fully believing in this verse.  What sort of difference could you make?

See You at the ball game!  You Gotta Believe Baby!