When the professional baseball player is interviewed after hitting the game winning home run it is notable how often their response is something like “I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball.” It is equally common to hear an announcer say “And he strikes out, it looked like he was trying to get it back all at once”. When we do the little things, big things often come. But when we try to make big things happen, we often get nothing.
When it comes to the power of our faith, we can become obsessed with hitting home-runs. We focus on a particular outcome. But that is not faith. Faith is trusting God to determine the outcomes. Faith is doing our part and being willing to accept the result. Jesus illustrated this in a graphic way in the Garden of Gethsemane. As he was being personally crushed like an olive in a press, he prayed three times that the cup be removed. But he accepted “no” as an answer, and went to the cross.
Being faithful in our everyday choices is like “putting a good swing on the ball.” It is easy to not see this kind of faithfulness as valuable. But life is a team sport. When we play our role faithfully, we are advancing the Kingdom.
“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
– Matthew 17:20