Win The Next Pitch

 

I lived and died for baseball when I was a little kid. As an adult, I had to settle for playing softball, which I enjoyed as well. An important part of being a good hitter or pitcher is to be able to focus on what you need to do in the moment.  There’s a phrase that’s used, “Win the next pitch”. It means that you should concentrate on what is right before you, not worrying about the last pitch or at-bat or looking ahead to the rest of the game, being less concerned with the outcome than in being ready to do your best in the task at hand.

 

“Win the next pitch” has a spiritual application as well. We should concentrate on being our best selves today, making an effort to win today’s battles, overcoming whatever obstacles we face in these 24 hours. We can’t look back at how we have come up short in the past. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” (Isaiah 43:18). We also can’t allow ourselves to feel overwhelmed by what may lie ahead. Jesus tells us, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34).

 

Just for today, let’s try to be the people God calls us to be, asking for his help, knowing that we cannot do it on our own. Let’s start the day as the psalmist did, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Let’s commit our day to God, trusting in Him to provide “our daily bread”. We’ll deal with whatever may come our way, focusing on doing our best in the here and now. If we reach the end of the day and find that we fell short of our goals, we can try again tomorrow.

 

Through the grace of God, let’s win the next pitch.

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The individual posts in this blog have been collected into a book, Reflections From the Basic Truths Blog.  It is available for free as an E-book through Barnes and Noble, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-from-the-basic-truths-blog-james-yarmchuk/1147055811?ean=2940181202702, Apple Books, and multiple other book websites. It is available for a minimal charge on Amazon and can also be purchased as a paperback through them.