Our Condition

As I knew Jeremiah was getting close in my daily readings, I was getting a bit more excited. Jeremiah is easily one of my favorite books of the Bible due to the gut wrenching, passionate proclamations and the incredible honesty from God about our condition - namely the condition of our heart.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 mark the blessings of a heart walking in fidelity to God.

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit"

Psalm 1:3 notes the very same thing about being by the source, the water, so as to have what is hidden or underneath nourished so what is visible may be of benefit to others, namely good fruit.

In one of the commentaries it talks about v 7:

Jeremiah 17:8 (JFB): Trials shall come upon him as on all, nay, upon him especially (Heb 12:6); but he shall not sink under them, because the Lord is his secret strength, just as the “roots spread out by a river” (or, “water-course”) draw hidden support from it (2 Co 4:8–11).

Right after the promise of being strengthened, the Lord is sure to point out it wont be a result of what our hearts want or desire because Jeremiah 17:9-10 make clear our hearts are in a bad state

"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is? "

The rhetorical question is insightful because people tend to be surprised daily at the depth of wickedness manifest, shuttling phrases like, “I cant believe he did that!”, or “What is wrong with the world?”

Chesterton answered that with one word - Me

I am what is wrong with the world but that takes introspection and more than that, it takes the Spirit of God convicting our hearts of that primary point.

From the Faithlife Study Bible:

Jeremiah 17:9 (FSB): The Hebrew term for the heart metaphorically refers to a person’s inner life—the will, thoughts, motivations, and emotions. This is a different understanding than “heart” in modern Western thinking, which primarily indicates the seat of emotions

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The inner man is where the battle lies and where all victories are first won. We see and hear people of character and forget it has been cultivated where no one sees.

This is true of any success- no one simply shows up for victory. It is won long before in the quietness of the soul and the preparation in practice.

God declares and leaves no doubt in Jeremiah 17:10 by saying

But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according th what their actions deserve.

From where do actions flow? Proverbs 4:23 lets us know if we didnt already figure that out from Jeremiah 17:9.

Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life

I am not surprised by my sin. I am not surprised when others sin. I am not surprised because the Author of Life declares the condition of our hearts and gives the cure - Himself.

Later in Jeremiah he says he will give us a new heart, not made of stone, but of flesh. In John he says if we remain in Him we will bear much fruit, but apart from him we cannot bear any fruit pleasing to him.

He is the source but too often we think we are the source of our good. We think that because our hearts deceive us and our condition is pitiful.

Becoming a Better Coach Through Playing

For many years, I was content to put away the game I played because "I coached". I am not even sure I was aware guys were still playing baseball. Most of the guys I knew who had played baseball moved on to the inevitable sport for the has beens: Softball.

Softball was easy - the ball was bigger, pitches slower, bases shorter, and most balls hit were either over the fence or to the outfielders.

I started back playing baseball about four years ago and it was probably the best thing I ever did to make me a better coach. I had gone to high school coaching clinics, visited with other coaches, and talked with friends who coached about baseball. All the talking usually ends up about strategy, practice plans, and scheduling.

I'm sure coaches who "got it" talked about culture and how to effectively coach players through their own mistakes. I just never paid attention because I thought I had that down.

Nope.

The mental side of the game is debilitating; it's paralyzing; it's fearful (irrationally so); and it's confidence draining if your mind isn't right.

We've now played in the Men's World Series for four years running. Three trips to Arizona and one in Ft. Myers for the Roy Hobbs World Series, which is where I currently write. When the game is easy, it's easy - the game slows down (like it does for most everyone when it goes easy) and confidence is high. It doesn't take much for confidence to disappear in a moment.

I fought so much with my mind this week I was mentally drained because I could not get to the place where I wanted the ball hit to me. I fielded just fine but still had three errors in the first day through two games. However, the shameful thing about all of this was simply not getting to a right place mentally to ever feel comfortable enough to actually field the ball.

Amazing isn't it? No issues at the plate, felt comfortable there and had relatively "successful" week.

I could not shake the fear of a ground ball coming my way and how I would react. I couldn't "see it" first, and because I couldn't "see it", I really couldn't "do it".

We work on the mental game with our kids and ask them to visualize, see it, and execute with deep breaths. As a player, I do those things the best I can. The hardest thing to understand right now is it isn't as easy as we make it sound.

This week has given me even a deeper appreciation for difficulties of this game and the simplicity needed to enjoy the process.