Though commentators may debate whether it is still the American pastime or not, for myself, baseball will always be king, and it makes this one of my favorite times of year. It’s the time of year is when winter is (hopefully) starting to fade away, summer camp is quickly approaching, and spring training is just around the corner. Nothing speaks of the eternal optimism of a sports fan more so than a baseball fan believing in February that somewhere in the marathon of 162 games and ever shifting variables of the season to come, this will be the year.
February is the promise of a clean slate and a new chance to make it all the way, or, at the very least, be better than the year before.
This year I have more reason to hope heading into spring training than ever before. After cheering them on for more bad years than good as of late, the Astros, for the first time ever, are the reigning champs and the hope of this year is not can they do it, but can they do it again? Fueling that hope even further is the fact that every Houston professional major league sports team to win a championship has won the next year as well. So, why wouldn’t I believe the Astros will undoubtedly do it again and continue this trend? But even if they don’t, you can bet I’ll be just as hopeful, optimistic, and excited about the season to come next February.
Which is why February reminds me of hope outside of sports as well. Scripture is filled with the promises of God, and unlike the promise of a sports team, those promises never fall short. Reading through the Bible you can see time and time again when God promises something. Some promises, like that He will send a flood on the earth or that He will provide manna from heaven, we can also see the quick fulfillment. Other times, however, the complete fulfillment of a promise is not so fast in coming.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” -Deuteronomy 7:9
Humans, in our fallibility, break promises, but God does not. He is always faithful. Sometimes we may not see the fulfillment of a promise in our lifetime, but God, in His perfect timing, is faithful. Consider the first promise of a Savior; it was first given when Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15). Yet it would be thousands of years before Jesus fulfilled that promise through His death on the cross.
As spring comes quickly towards us, with the promise of new life and new things to come, remember the promises God has made for believers. Foremost among those is the promise of eternal life in Christ, which we have not seen the complete fulfillment of yet. We live in expectation of the promise God has made to us, knowing He is faithful.
“This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” – 1 John 2:25 “…in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago…” – Titus 1:2
If we trust in God to fulfill this promise, how much more so should we trust Him to fulfill the promises He has made which we see actualized in our lives daily? To name just a few of these type promises, God has promised to forgive us (1 John 1:9), meet our needs (Phillipians 4:19), provide rest (Matthew 11:28), and to give us peace (John 14:27). If we fail to trust God in these promises, how can we confidently say we trust God to fulfill His ultimate promise of eternal life? If we trust God with our salvation, we must also trust all of His promises.
Sports teams and others will disappoint, but God is faithful. God is eternal and does not change, and He always keeps His promises. Are you living your daily life in trust of the fulfillment of what God has promised?