July 21, 2021 (Thursday),
Life doesn’t always go our way. That’s the way the ball bounces.
“That’s the way the ball bounces.” I’ve heard that saying and repeated it myself, but never gave it much thought until the Astros lost to the Giants in the 12th inning of a 2007 game because of the way the ball bounced. First Baseman Berkman had his glove ready as the ball bounced toward him, but, lo and behold, it hit the base and bounced into the air, giving the runner on third base the opportunity to run home. Game over. “That’s the way the ball bounces.”
The saying typifies how life works. Our logical minds want to make sense of everything, and we find it difficult to say, “That’s the way the ball bounces,” and then search for ways to cope. As believers we want to see meaning or purpose in life’s events. It is our unwillingness to admit that life has spun out of our own control that causes our faith to come under fire from within.
We can debate the atheist with clear and logical arguments, but we have a hard time with our own thoughts, when we begin to suffer from happenings that we think God should have prevented. Note the word “should,” instead of “could.” Seems we sometimes think we know what God should do. There’s our problem. We are looking over God’s shoulder and telling Him what to do, instead of kneeling before Him and asking, “What wilt Thou have me to do?”
We keep coming back to the Bible book of Job, looking for answers to the problem of suffering. Job asked no questions at first, as his series of calamities began. But his suffering continued day after day, his body became loathsome even to himself, and his pain became unbearable with never a moment’s respite. The situation seemed unjust, so he finally spoke up and told God how he felt. He asked God why his life had taken such a tragic turn when he had always tried to do things God’s way. He finally brought himself to ask, “Why?”
God didn’t tell Job why. As God spoke, Job came to realize that he could not know why. Then he discovered he did not need to know why. What he needed was to humble himself before Almighty God.
We have to learn, sooner or later, that life doesn’t always go our way. “That’s the way the ball bounces.”
We Christians take our burdens to the Lord. Like Paul with his “thorn in the flesh,” we plead with God to please change things, to make life better for us. God says to us, as he said to the Apostle Paul, “My strength is made perfect in weakness. My grace is sufficient for you.”