God’s Knuckleball (25 of 34)
Series: Acts
Robert Dawson
Acts 16
As a baseball fan, it seems that almost everything in in the game is based on precision, predictability and patterns. A .260, .275 or .300 hitter might have a good or bad year, but eventually he will revert to the norm. Patterns and predictability.
It's the same with pitching. Pitchers try to repeat their throwing mechanics and deliberately spin the ball in a certain way. Depending on the release point and grip the ball will spin a certain way causing it to sink or curve, break left or right and good hitters who recognize and pick up the spin of the ball early enough can adjust. Patterns and predictability.
But there's one exception to baseball's predictability—the knuckleball. A good knuckleball hardly spins at all. Because a knuckler doesn't spin, it's entirely unpredictable. Charlie Hough, one of the greatest knuckleball pitchers of all time once said, "The wind currents make the ball bob around like a Whiffle ball and it might break two or three different times on the way to the plate." As a result, the pitcher and the catcher—let alone the hitter—have no idea where the ball is going. No pattern or predictability. It is predictably unpredictable.
A knuckleball throws a hitter's timing off. It throws them off balance and keeps them guessing. Former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer once said the challenge of hitting a knuckleball was like "trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks." Another Yankee, Mickey Mantle, said bluntly: "Knuckleballers. I hate 'em all." And as for catching a knuckleball pitcher? Good luck. Joe Torre once said, "[Catchers need to] use a big glove and a pair of rosary beads."
Sometimes in life and ministry God throws us a curveball and other times He throws us a knuckler that leaves us scratching our head wondering exactly what God is doing, what He wants and where He is leading.
In Acts ...
Series: Acts
Robert Dawson
Acts 16
As a baseball fan, it seems that almost everything in in the game is based on precision, predictability and patterns. A .260, .275 or .300 hitter might have a good or bad year, but eventually he will revert to the norm. Patterns and predictability.
It's the same with pitching. Pitchers try to repeat their throwing mechanics and deliberately spin the ball in a certain way. Depending on the release point and grip the ball will spin a certain way causing it to sink or curve, break left or right and good hitters who recognize and pick up the spin of the ball early enough can adjust. Patterns and predictability.
But there's one exception to baseball's predictability—the knuckleball. A good knuckleball hardly spins at all. Because a knuckler doesn't spin, it's entirely unpredictable. Charlie Hough, one of the greatest knuckleball pitchers of all time once said, "The wind currents make the ball bob around like a Whiffle ball and it might break two or three different times on the way to the plate." As a result, the pitcher and the catcher—let alone the hitter—have no idea where the ball is going. No pattern or predictability. It is predictably unpredictable.
A knuckleball throws a hitter's timing off. It throws them off balance and keeps them guessing. Former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer once said the challenge of hitting a knuckleball was like "trying to eat Jell-O with chopsticks." Another Yankee, Mickey Mantle, said bluntly: "Knuckleballers. I hate 'em all." And as for catching a knuckleball pitcher? Good luck. Joe Torre once said, "[Catchers need to] use a big glove and a pair of rosary beads."
Sometimes in life and ministry God throws us a curveball and other times He throws us a knuckler that leaves us scratching our head wondering exactly what God is doing, what He wants and where He is leading.
In Acts ...
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