The Swing of Faith

“Whose weakness was turned to strength.” Hebrews 11:34

Every summer, at Cooperstown, New York, a chosen few of baseball’s elite are inducted into the Hall of Fame. During the ceremony, attendees are regaled with outstanding facts and feats of the selected athletes. Homers, hits, runs batted in, slugging percentage, and batting average are stats shared about those picked for their prowess at the plate. For the ones hoping and trying to follow in their footsteps, just listening to the numbers can be overwhelming and intimidating. A bit like reading Hebrews 11.

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, and the list goes on and on. This Hall of Faith is filled with feats and facts of Godly men and women who lived so well we feel we could never attain such greatness. Through faith, these heroes “conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword”(Heb. 11:33-34). By this time in the passage, we’re surely despairing of our failures and feeling inadequate in our faith, but let us not lose heart, for just as many of those enshrined at Cooperstown started out as second-string Little Leaguers, each of our Hebrews Heroes started out small and struck-out often along the way.

Noah was found drunk and naked in his tent. Abraham, scared for his own life, passed his wife off as his sister and let Pharaoh marry her. (It was only a half-lie because she really was his half sister, but the whole deception made a big mess.) Joseph bragged about his dreams, Moses got mad and disobeyed, David committed adultery and murdered to cover it up, and this list goes on and on as well. So how did those with so many failures end up with such great faith? One short phrase in the chapter holds the key to their success and ours also. “Whose weakness was turned to strength”(Heb. 11:34). None of us are strong on our own. We are frail, fragile, and faithless. We may try and try again, but we end up falling and failing. But when God, in His grace, reveals to us His truth, He takes our flaws and our faults, forgives our sins, and fills us with faith. “By grace you are saved through faith--and this not from yourselves—it is a gift of God”(Eph. 2:8). By His power, God turns our weakness into strength, and our reliance on Him becomes a force of great might.

The people listed in Hebrews were far from perfect—they failed many times not only before but also after they put their trust in God. But though not faultless, they were faithful— confessing their sin and coming back to the God whom they believed. Our weakness will be turned to strength as we take Him at His word and follow His ways—again and again.

Don’t be dejected as you walk back to the dugout.
You can’t strike-out when you swing in faith.