Randy & son Aaron

www.truthworks.com          15 JAN 04          devotion archive          send this page to a friend

PERSEVERANCE

I tell you the Truth,

Greetings!  You’ll quickly see that I’m excited to continue Truth Works in this New Year!  If you’re new to the list, welcome!  If you’re old to the list, welcome back!  Please be sure to read this one to the end.  I promise you good news!

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I know it’s a little early, but I’m already starting to think about baseball.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love baseball.  I love the smell of leather, of cut grass and of spring air.  I grew up playing sports all year around.  But baseball was my passion.  I’d skip a trip to Disney World if I thought I’d have to miss a game as a kid.

And while I love the sport, I can’t necessarily say that “baseball has been very, very good to me.”  While I was fortunate enough to play collegiate ball, it wasn’t always the best experience.  During my sophomore year of college, my beloved West Virginia Tech team was on record pace – to break the NAIA consecutive loses streak.  We had students coming out to cheer us on – to loose.  Banners were hung –“38 losses and still going strong!”

When you’re on a loosing streak it’s easy to quit.  And we had a few players jump ship.

But not me.  I loved baseball too much to quit.  You couldn’t drag me from the game.  It didn’t matter if we won or lost.  I was a baseball fanatic.

And I’m glad I didn’t quit.  Because it was my very last game that became the highlight real of my career.

I wasn’t even supposed to play that game against Fairmont State.  But coach handed me the ball just before the game and told me I would be the starting pitcher.  And it was a day I’ll never forget.

The first nine batters in the first three innings all sat down quickly as I picked up nine straight strike outs.  For me to pitch one inning with three consecutive strike outs would be amazing.  But to sit down nine in a row was just too much.  By the time the game was over, I had pitched a two hit, one walk shut out.  Three pitches shy of a perfect game.  (And if you ask me, those two hits should have been fielded as outs!)

It was my very last collegiate game.  And I’ve often thought about what I would have missed if I would have quit.  And because of that, I go back to that game in my mind at times to remind me that quitters tend to miss out in the end.

James 5:
⁷Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. ⁹Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
¹⁰Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

We’re called to persevere, not give up, and press on.  Even when things look like they couldn’t get any worse, go any more wrong, we have no reason to give up.  When a child of God gives up he’s telling God that he doesn’t trust Him, doesn’t think God is as faithful as He says He is.

But I have good news.  Our God is faithful.  He never forsakes us.  And in the end – He always perseveres on our behalf.

With that said, I encourage you to not give up.  Press on in prayer - especially in prayer for the lost.  God is faithful.

And the evidence of His faithfulness is found in the prayer list for salvation in this letter.  Because of God’s faithfulness, there’s a name missing today.  That name is Bob Hunt, my father.  That’s right.  I’ve removed my dad’s name from the salvation list because on Jan 8, around 2:00pm my dad finally accepted the gift of salvation when he committed his life to the Lord.

Dad’s name has been on this list for the entire eight years I’ve been writing this devotion. But people have been praying for him for a lot longer than that.

And while my father may be battling brain cancer and may be living the last literal days of his life, he’s now become an enormous encouragement to me and others to continue praying, to press on and persevere for those who need to know the good news of Jesus Christ.

My last college baseball game was something else.  I’ll cherish those thoughts forever.  But more importantly, I’ll cherish what I learned from that game.  Don’t give up.

Just ask my dad.  He’ll tell you over and over how thankful he is that none of us ever gave up on him.

So press on.

And persevere.

Your Servant,

Randy Hunt
randy@truthworks.com
2TIM 1:7

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