“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” — Romans 15:13
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Chuck Knoblauch played baseball so well in his first year in Major League Baseball that he was voted American League Rookie of the Year. For several years, the Minnesota Twins second baseman was on track for a Hall of Fame career. He made the All-Star team four times as he excelled in the batter’s box and in the field, while also having the speed to steal bases. As far as anybody knew, Knoblauch would continue to be a consistent contributor for his team until he decided to retire.
However, he was traded to the New York Yankees in 1998 and started getting the “yips” out in the field. Perhaps the aura of being on the Yankees dynasty and living in the big city made him feel extra pressure. He continued to hit well and steal bases, but he gradually made more and more errors in the field, and it got in his head. In spite of the Yankees winning World Series championships while he was there, his career spiraled downward. On June 15, 2000, he made three throwing errors in one game. After the last error, he took himself out of the game during a pitching change. Manager Joe Torre tried to comfort him and shortstop Derek Jeter publicly asked the fans to be patient with him, but Knoblauch couldn’t shake it. Eventually, Knoblauch was moved from second base to left field, but he only played a few more years after the meltdown.
In the Bible, we read about an all-star prophet named Elijah. He was the bravest and best of all the prophets. In one instance, he stood alone for God in competition against hundreds of false prophets of other gods. After Elijah prayed, God did a demonstration that shocked the crowd more than a grand slam. In his prayer, Elijah pleaded for the Lord to show everybody that God is real. “Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again” (1 Kings 18:37).
In response, the Lord sent fire from Heaven with such power to startle and amaze the crowd. “Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord — he is God! The Lord — he is God!'” (1 Kings 18:38-39).
Despite that moment of God’s victory through him, Elijah went from enjoying loud cheers to suddenly running away and hiding. The crowd may have clapped for him, but Queen Jezebel booed Elijah and she ordered his execution as she’d done to other good prophets (1 Kings 19:1-2).
In his time of danger, Elijah stopped trusting God for a moment and wanted to die. “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors'” (1 Kings 19:3-4). God sent an angel to feed the prophet and he ended up in a cave thinking his life was done, but God told him he wasn’t finished.
Elijah would go on to anoint a king and a prophet before he went to Heaven. He almost missed his greatest moment by insisting on dying. Shortly afterward, God took him up on angels’ wings in the fiery chariot to Heaven and he didn’t die.
When you’re discouraged or depressed and Jesus is your Savior, remember that God always has something better for you down the road. Whatever you are facing, you can be filled to overflowing with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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