Daily Diary - February 18th 2016

(An excerpt from my book: Victory)

Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

I had a dream that I was playing baseball on a town team with older men. We were gathered together for fun to play a game. In this dream I was well versed in the game rules and understood baseball at a high level. The confidence I had in my ability allowed me to steal bases and basically do anything I wanted. The experience I had gained from college and coaching at multiple levels had made my reactions sharp, and I was able to help others with the rules and execution.

Some of the people playing were women and young boys who had very little if any experience with the game. They were unsure of the simple truths, such as how many strikes and balls you could have as a batter. Others didn’t even know that you could steal a base. The knowledge of the game varied greatly among the players.

I was enjoying my knowledge and experience of the game and I made a point to educate others as we played.

Parable:  The revelation I gained from this dream began when I hit a single into right field. I rounded first base and it was time for my son Parker to come in and “run” for me. I remember having to leave him at first base to make decisions on his own. He was only nine years old, and most of the players on the opposing team were three times his age and much more experienced. As I walked towards the bench, I looked back at my son and saw the excitement on his face to be playing. I also felt his insecurity of not knowing exactly what to do. He was very sure of himself in some ways and I realized that pride could be his downfall. The other team had some very crafty players. I knew they could run trick plays on him and deceive him into getting tagged out.

I asked myself the questions, “Did I teach him enough to make it around the bases to home on his own? Would he make a mistake by being deceived and be called out on a trick play on his way around the bases?” I wanted to help him, but he was on his own. I could only stand by from the bench and shout out instructions to him. I was forced to “hope” that he could hear me because there were a lot of voices hollering at him. They were telling him to get a bigger lead and making fake attempts to trick him off the base.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

At one point Parker was on second base, which is the furthest place from me and therefore the hardest place for him to hear my voice. He had his back turned to the field as the pitcher “fake” threw to second base. The ball was still in the pitcher’s hand as Parker looked to the outfield. He was tagged out. 

God revealed to me that the game is like life. We needed to know the truth from the Word of God to be able to know the game of life and fight the battles of the world. When the players were trying to trick me, it was difficult for them. The players who were not equipped in the rules did not have near the chance of succeeding.

My son Parker needed to grow to a place of knowledge in the game of baseball to make great choices. He needed to be highly educated in the game to succeed on the field. The same holds true in life. If we know the “truth” of the Word, we can be successful in this life. We will be able to avoid the tricks of the enemy. There are many voices crying out to deceive us. We need to know our Father’s voice and respond to His truth – the only truth we can trust. I also felt responsible to help others gain knowledge of the “truth” so they could succeed as well. You never want anyone to perish or fail because of lack of knowledge.

The revelation I gained when Parker came in to run the bases for me was, “Is he ready?” He was starting to learn the game and he would have to go through playing it to be able to know it well enough to be great at it. I had to turn loose and hope he could make it around the bases on his own. If he ran the bases enough times, he would eventually gain the knowledge to be his best. He could listen to my instruction during the game when he could hear me.

Revelation: As I watched my son Parker run the bases, I wanted to help him in the worst way. My heart was totally with him. I wanted to take his place. I asked, “Can I go back in and run for him?” I knew I couldn’t. This brought me the amazing revelation: God knew from the beginning that we would make mistakes and fail at times. When He looked out at us being deceived and tricked into getting out the same way as I saw my son being picked off the bases, He wanted to take our place.

Summary:  God sent His Son Jesus back in to run the bases for us. He came in and took all the tricks and deception of the enemy upon Himself. He loved us even more than when I looked at my son Parker and wanted to take his place. It brought me a deeper understanding of why God sent His Son back for us. I would have gladly taken my son’s place in this dream. God did that for us. He sent Jesus to take our place. All we have to do is be submitted to His will and the Word of God and allow ourselves to go to the safe place and let Jesus run the race for us. The problem is that our pride keeps telling us we can do it on our own. If we trust the Lord, we CAN hear His voice through the Holy Spirit. He can guide us into all “truth” and hold us back from the deception of the enemy.

In the game of baseball second base is the farthest from either coach.  It is the base that you have to holler loud as a coach for the base runner to hear you.  This reminded me that when we get further away from God it’s harder hear His voice.  The infielders were close by and being loud trying to deceive the base runner and keeping him from hearing the coach.  How many times do we do this in life?  We get away from God and all we hear is the voice of an enemy that is trying to deceive us.

Thank You, Lord, for loving us even when we make mistakes.  Continue to bring us wisdom of Your word so we can have our skills sharpened in the game of life so we can succeed the way you designed it in Jesus Name.  Amen

2 Timothy 2:21Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.