God is not getting back at you; He's getting you back

Maybe tough times have come your way lately. And maybe you've been wondering, "Is God getting back at me for some of the sinning I've done?" But consider this: God is not getting back at you. Instead, He's getting you back. For Himself.

When I was a young man, I had an idol. Baseball. As a kid, I dreamed about being an all-star, a world series MVP, and maybe someday make it to the Hall of Fame. But I have to admit that it was all about me. Baseball was an end in itself. It was my idol.

God had a different idea. He had a calling, a mission for my life. He wanted me to be all about building His kingdom. Baseball was not supposed to be an end in itself, but a means to an end. God said, "Glorify Me by building My kingdom."

But I said, “Me first.” And I ran. I ran from God.

One day in 1974, when I was playing in fall ball for Vanderbilt in Nashville, I made it to first base somehow. And the pitcher tried to pick me off. I dove back into the bag. I was safe. But when I got up, my shoulder was hanging down several inches lower than normal. And I was hurt. I don’t know how many times I had gone back to the bag in that very same way. And nothing bad had ever happened. Baseball players dive into the bag that way all the time.

But this time, I found myself in a kind of physical storm. I didn't know if I would ever be able to throw a ball in from the outfield again. My once good arm was now a liability.

I saw that God was at work through that injury. He was pursuing me. God was saying, “Stop running. Get rid of your idol. Get on mission with Me. Make My agenda your agenda.”

I learned an important lesson: You can run but you can’t outrun God. He got my attention. And I stopped running from God and started walking with God.

I never could throw a ball as well as I threw before the injury, but God let me play baseball another 5 years after that. I saw the game differently, though. I saw it as a means, not an end. I used baseball as a platform to build the kingdom of God. Over those five seasons, several of my teammates came to faith in Jesus through my life and ministry.

I hate to think what might have happened to me if God hadn’t dislocated my shoulder – if I hadn’t stopped running – if I hadn’t given up my idol. Maybe I would have married some neurotic woman and wasted the last 40 years of my life.

But I stopped running and God orchestrated a chain of events and I ended up with a great wife, 3 amazing sons, and a ministry in NE Ohio that has been so very fruitful far beyond anything a washed-up minor leaguer from the sticks of Tennessee could expect.

I’m glad God sent that physical storm to me. My shoulder still hurts when I play catch in the yard with my boys. But that’s OK. It’s a reminder of God’s grace. When God engineered the circumstances that resulted in my bum shoulder, He wasn’t getting back at me. He was getting me back.