What could be

I love baseball. Even though my team hasn't won a title in almost a hundred years, I love it. I particularly love baseball in April. Because in April, anything is possible.

In baseball, April is the month of optimism. It's the month where every fan believes that this could be the year their team wins it all. The newly added players are all going to excel. The rookies are all going to become superstars. This is the year that the player who has frustrated you with his inconsistent play for years is going to put it all together. April is all about what could happen. No matter what happens later in the year, it's fun to be a baseball fan in April.

Unfortunately, for most fans, April eventually gives way to August and September. By then you know that this year isn't the year. Optimism is replaced by pessimism. Instead of thinking about what could happen, people think about all the reasons why good things won't happen to their team. All they see are the obstacles. They see how far behind their rivals they are. They see the injuries. They see the players who aren't playing up to their potential. It's almost like there is an assumption that the team can't do it. Most years, it's not nearly as much fun to be a baseball fan in August and September.

Unfortunately, when it comes to living their faith, many followers of Christ are more like August and September fans than they are April fans. Instead of being optimistic about what God could do through them, they look at the obstacles and difficulties they face, and construct reasons why God won't work through them.

That's not what God wants. God can't work through us if we sit around and do nothing. But once we start moving, then he can. Jonathan, the son of King Saul, understood this. Jonathan decided to attack the enemies of God's people, Israel. When he made the decision to attack, he turned to his friend and said "Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf." (1 Sam 14:6, emphasis added). Jonathan didn't know what God would do. But he knew that attacking the Philistines was the right thing to do. And if he started moving, then it gave God the opportunity to work. He didn't go into battle with the assurance that God would show up. He was acting on the possibility of what might be. Jonathan was an April fan. An August or September fan would have stayed in the valley below instead of attacking.

We need to take a page out of Jonathan's book. God wants us to see the possibilities of what might happen, and what God could do, instead of getting lost in all the obstacles. God doesn't want us to concentrate on what could go wrong. If we think that way, we will do nothing. God typically do things on his own and then invite us along for the fun. Instead, once we're moving, God works through us. If we don't start, often nothing gets done for the sake of God. But once we start, as Jonathan said, "nothing can hinder God from saving, whether by many or by few."