“Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” Lamentations 3:37-38

Los Angeles Dodgers star Adrian Gonzalez realizes that God’s sovereignty, His control, can’t be usurped.

But he doesn’t use that as an excuse to not work hard, as he told Sports Spectrum in an interview.

“My relationship with Christ allows me to take a step back from things and not put too much pressure on myself,” said Gonzalez, a four-time All-Star who represented Mexico in the World Baseball Classic in March and will star for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season. “I know that, once I put in all the effort and the time into my work, the results are up to Him and I can’t really control what happens to me on the field. God controls that. I just try to do the best I can every day I come to the ballpark and, at the end of the day, if my relationship with Christ is good, then I’m good.”

It echoes what Lamentations says about God’s control—that we can’t make things happen apart from God’s help.

It’s comforting, because it helps us see that God understands what is best for us and that we don’t have to worry about the details. We do our part by working hard at whatever God has given us, and God will work out everything for His glory.

By Brett Honeycutt

Brett Honeycutt is the managing editor of Sports Spectrum magazine. This devotional is taken from our most recent Training Table, a compilation of sports-related devotionals included in each print magazine. Log in here to access our most recent Training Table.