“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” — Isaiah 43:1
I played tee ball when I was young because everybody played tee ball. I lasted a season, but then went on to soccer, only to fall in love quickly with baseball as a seventh grader. I had no real training (or equipment) to try out for the school team, but had connections to a family big in the town league. My closest friends were all on the same team, and their father was the coach (and commissioner) and had plenty of control as far as rosters.
As a formality I had to perform at a draft combine to be placed on a team. I was told I would play for my friend’s team and assured that no matter what happened in the draft, I would be placed there. I shouldn’t have had any worry, right?
God, the Creator of the world, assures us that we should not fear. He holds us in His hands and protects those who believe in Him, yet a lot of us still struggle with that assurance. I went to that draft and was told by the only authority in the league that I would be placed on the team I wanted to be on, because more than 80 percent of the reason I wanted to play was to play with my friends. Yet even with that assurance, I worried that I would somehow slip through the cracks and end up with strangers in a sport I hardly knew.
I look often to grow in the part of my faith that assures us God Himself is holding us. I want to so badly dwell in that assurance, but this world can creep in sometimes. It may be through financial hardship, relational problems or other anxieties that rob us of faithful assurance. The point is that faith tests us often, and it’s a divine testing that strengthens us as we grow in it.
I made my friends’ team as expected, and from that moment on I never gave it much thought. But what if I didn’t sweat it leading up to that call? What if I just trusted the absolute truth I was told and put my energy elsewhere?
What if we all walk through life knowing God has us in His hands, and instead of worrying, we use that energy to go toward more of God’s plan for us? We made the team already, let’s enjoy the game.
— Anthony Ceniccola
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