Monday Morning Devotion-July 19, 2021

The Catcher

*Reprint with additions from June 9, 2014

Cast all your anxieties upon Him for He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7 

       It's every boy's dream who plays baseball as a kid.  Playing in the little leagues, on the

 playground and at school every little guy can picture himself becoming a major leaguer

someday.  Last week the All-Star game was on TV.  A parade of stars captured the attention

of everyone, especially those Little Leaguers.

            The American League won again.  They were managed by a former catcher Kevin Cash. He caught 189 games in the Major Leagues before retiring to coach and last year was named Manager of the Year for leading the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series.  I was privileged to broadcast his games at Florida State University (although he played infield here).

            At the same time FSU had a catcher Cal Raleigh called up to the Major Leagues (Seattle) And a current Seminole catcher Mat Nelson was chosen on the first day of the 2021 Major League Draft by Cincinnati.

            I write all of this background info to say that in baseball the catcher is a very important position and provides the basis for today's devotion with some help from one I previously wrote seven years ago.

            Here goes°from June 2014:

            When I was a kid I experimented a lot, as kids are prone to do, especially when it came to sports. I tried out different sports and different positions in each sport to determine not only what I liked most, but what I was best at.

            I quickly determined that the game I could play best was baseball.  I also rapidly learned that one position I would not end up playing was catcher.  The catcher in a baseball game has a tough job. That's easy to see.  Just look at all the equipment he has to wear for protection.

            As often is the case the bigger the risk taken the greater the reward attained.  That is if you succeed.  Florida State University had a Georgia boy who came to school to play baseball.  Said he was a shortstop and a pitcher.  And he was good°very good.

            His name was Buster Posey.  After a year in the infield the coaches suggested that he might want to switch to catcher, a position he had not played before.  Being the nice guy that he is he said, "OK."

            The rest is history.  As Major League catcher with the San Francisco Giants, Buster has captured the fancy of baseball fans far and wide.  He has enjoyed mega-success.

            The point here is that a catcher is a very important person. That's why the opening line of "Jesus Today" that I read recently caught my attention. Speaking through author Sarah Young, Jesus tells us this:

            "Cast all your cares on Me, for I am watching over you.  I am actually a very good Catcher, so throw me your cares---your anxieties and concerns---with abandon."

            Sounds good to me.  And it gets better.  "As soon as you release those worrisome things, you can breathe a sigh of relief and refresh yourself in My loving presence.  It doesn't matter if you have to do this many times each day---and sometimes during the night too.  I am always awake, ready to catch your cares and bear your burdens."  Nice!

            Without confidence in his catcher a pitcher will not succeed.  He must trust his judgment in calling signals so he will throw the right pitch at the right time to get the batter out.  He must believe that no matter what kind of pitch he throws that his catcher will catch it.  They have to be on the same page all the time.  And to top it off his catcher must be strong.

            Jesus says:  "Because I am infinitely powerful.  Bearing your burdens, does not weigh Me down at all.  In fact, I enjoy this game of catch very much because I see your load becoming lighter and your face becoming brighter."

            How about that?  He not only is willing to help, in fact, take over those burdens and lighten your load, but He wants to.  He enjoys it.  You are not putting Him out when you rely on Him and turn those sticky situations over to Him.

            Reading further:  "No matter how much you throw at Me, I never miss!  So refuse to let your worries weigh you down.  Remember that I am with you---ready to help with whatever you are facing."

            Beautiful!  Sounds easy and it is°if you believe.  You have to have faith and trust.  Even though that solution is not immediate it is imminent.  It will happen.  Just the fact that you turn it over to Him should provide some quick peace of mind as you wait for Him to lead you through or cause it to be resolved in some other manner.

            I can think of many times in my life where I worried about something, and it kept on nagging at me.  I'm pretty much a guy who values an orderly existence.  I like to have a place for everything and have everything in its place as the old saying goes.

            But simply having that kind of an outlook sometimes causes needless stress.  And it can build up to where it is barely manageable.  That's when it is time to remember that you are not in this ballgame alone.  Whew! That's a great thought!

            The game of life may have been progressing smoothly and you were making all the right pitches.  Suddenly the curveballs you were throwing at these problems start getting hit out of the park. What happened?  What to do?

            "Instead of mulling over your problems, look to Him lightheartedly and say, 'Catch Jesus!'  Then fling your cares into My strong, waiting hands." 

            Just remember:  "The Lord watches over you---the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The Lord will keep you from all harm; He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."  Psalm 121:5-8 (NKJV)

            When a pitcher makes a wild pitch or crosses up his catcher and mistakenly throws a pitch that was not signaled the catcher may not be able to catch it.  If there were men on base they may advance while he chases the ball down.  If one of those runners was on third a run is likely to score.

            You can't make a pitch that is too wild for the Lord to catch.  He knows your problems before you even pitch them to Him.  He wants to see your faith in action.  He wants you to trust Him and feel confident that He will catch your pitch and if something is stealing your happiness, He will throw it out like a catcher throwing out a base runner trying to steal.

            As the Psalmist writes (68:19)   "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."

            Yes, a good catcher is invaluable and not just in baseball!

Monday Prayer:  Thank you Lord for the confidence you build in us that you will catch and handle our difficulties in life.  Amen!