On April 2, 1931, Jackie Mitchell, a seventeen year old rookie with the Southern Association’s AA Chattanooga Lookouts, was put on the mound in relief when the Yankees stopped by for an exhibition game on the way home from spring training.
The first batter to face Mitchell was Babe Ruth. The rookie pitched a ball. Then came a swing and a miss, twice. The next pitch was a called strike. In four pitches the teenager had struck out Babe Ruth.
Next up was Lou Gehrig—three swings and three misses—OUT.
Did I mention that Jackie was a girl?
Before the game Ruth had commented: “[Women] will never make good [in baseball]. Why? Because they’re too delicate. It will kill them to play every day.” Then he and his fellow future Hall-of-Famer were promptly struck out by a woman, and a teenage rookie at that.
And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, 1 Sam 17:42,43.
Goliath had the same problem Babe Ruth did. He thought he was invincible. Certainly a young, inexperienced teenager couldn’t beat him. Even some of God’s own people thought the same, especially David’s brothers. “What are you doing here, you little twerp? You left your work just to come watch the battle, didn’t you?”
We say all the time that we have faith, that we know God can handle anything. Yet when we see God’s methods, we instantly doubt. “This can’t be right. It’ll never work.” We find ourselves standing with the Jews who rejected our Lord. “Who does he think he is? He’s just the carpenter’s son. This is God’s idea of a king?”
What kinds of giants are you attempting to slay in your life? Anger, depression, addiction, foul language, a persistent sin that it seems you can never control? Are you in the middle of a painful and debilitating illness? Have you lost someone close to you, someone you are not sure you can live without? Has a long persistent trial depleted you of spiritual energy? If a teenage rookie can strike out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back, something God doesn’t even care about, much less would intervene in, why can’t I strike out the problems that beset me when the Almighty God has promised to help me do just that?
How many times has God conquered a nation with just a handful? Review today the stories of Gideon, of Jonathan and his armor bearer, of the angel of the Lord who struck down 180,000 Assyrians in one night to save the besieged nation of Judah. Think about Esther who saved an entire race of people without a miracle, about Jehosheba who thwarted a massacre by stealing a baby away in the night thus saving the Messianic dynasty from the pollution of Ahab’s sin. Remember the many parents who raised children in faith, children who grew up to save countless numbers with their preaching—Zacharias and Elizabeth, Eunice, Mary of Jerusalem, and of course, Mary and Joseph, insignificant people making a more than significant impact because they trusted God to help them.
God can accomplish anything He wants to accomplish, any way He wants to accomplish it. If I think otherwise, I might very well be keeping Him from accomplishing something wonderful through me. Open your heart this morning. Un-tether your faith from thoughts of impossibilities, and fasten on to a God who knows no limits.
And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God and said, Jehovah, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him that has no strength. Help us, O Jehovah our God, for we rely on you and in your name are we come against this multitude. O Jehovah, you are our God, let no man prevail against you, 2 Chron 14:11.
Dene Ward
The first batter to face Mitchell was Babe Ruth. The rookie pitched a ball. Then came a swing and a miss, twice. The next pitch was a called strike. In four pitches the teenager had struck out Babe Ruth.
Next up was Lou Gehrig—three swings and three misses—OUT.
Did I mention that Jackie was a girl?
Before the game Ruth had commented: “[Women] will never make good [in baseball]. Why? Because they’re too delicate. It will kill them to play every day.” Then he and his fellow future Hall-of-Famer were promptly struck out by a woman, and a teenage rookie at that.
And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and withal of fair countenance. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods, 1 Sam 17:42,43.
Goliath had the same problem Babe Ruth did. He thought he was invincible. Certainly a young, inexperienced teenager couldn’t beat him. Even some of God’s own people thought the same, especially David’s brothers. “What are you doing here, you little twerp? You left your work just to come watch the battle, didn’t you?”
We say all the time that we have faith, that we know God can handle anything. Yet when we see God’s methods, we instantly doubt. “This can’t be right. It’ll never work.” We find ourselves standing with the Jews who rejected our Lord. “Who does he think he is? He’s just the carpenter’s son. This is God’s idea of a king?”
What kinds of giants are you attempting to slay in your life? Anger, depression, addiction, foul language, a persistent sin that it seems you can never control? Are you in the middle of a painful and debilitating illness? Have you lost someone close to you, someone you are not sure you can live without? Has a long persistent trial depleted you of spiritual energy? If a teenage rookie can strike out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig back to back, something God doesn’t even care about, much less would intervene in, why can’t I strike out the problems that beset me when the Almighty God has promised to help me do just that?
How many times has God conquered a nation with just a handful? Review today the stories of Gideon, of Jonathan and his armor bearer, of the angel of the Lord who struck down 180,000 Assyrians in one night to save the besieged nation of Judah. Think about Esther who saved an entire race of people without a miracle, about Jehosheba who thwarted a massacre by stealing a baby away in the night thus saving the Messianic dynasty from the pollution of Ahab’s sin. Remember the many parents who raised children in faith, children who grew up to save countless numbers with their preaching—Zacharias and Elizabeth, Eunice, Mary of Jerusalem, and of course, Mary and Joseph, insignificant people making a more than significant impact because they trusted God to help them.
God can accomplish anything He wants to accomplish, any way He wants to accomplish it. If I think otherwise, I might very well be keeping Him from accomplishing something wonderful through me. Open your heart this morning. Un-tether your faith from thoughts of impossibilities, and fasten on to a God who knows no limits.
And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God and said, Jehovah, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him that has no strength. Help us, O Jehovah our God, for we rely on you and in your name are we come against this multitude. O Jehovah, you are our God, let no man prevail against you, 2 Chron 14:11.
Dene Ward
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