Trusting an Unseen Future






Once upon a time, when my baseball-loving husband was looking to expand his career options, he did a stint as a Major League Baseball scout. With his trusty radar gun and video camera, he visited high schools and colleges throughout Washington and Oregon.

Sleeping in his truck, and managing his regular business via cell phone, his radar gun zeroed in on a future All Star pitcher other scouts seemed to ignore.






Tim Lincecum was a scrawny kid by any athletic standards. But on the pitching mound for his college team, the University of Washington Huskies, he was dominating. The other scouts seemed more interested in meatier men—a brisk wind would knock this kid down.

But with radar gun stats and a keen sense of what Lincecum’s future could be, my husband wasted no time reporting on this scrawny pitching wonder. The MLB team ignored his insightful tip and basically said, keeping looking.

How wrong they were. The San Francisco Giants picked Lincecum in the first round of the 2006 MLB draft. Then came his Cy Young Awards in 2008, 2009 and playing in four All-Star Games. Oh, and two World Series Championships. Since Tim Lincecum has just pitched his second no-hitter in two seasons, it’s safe to say my husband picked a winner.






Have you noticed that we can have burgeoning talent and passion, but because it's untried, no one gives us a chance? People who could help us succeed, refuse to trust an unseen future—they look at who we are, not who we can be. They have a "scouting" report and somehow we don't measure up. We can feel unworthy. Maybe we even give up.

But Someone else sees our future even though it's a long ways off. God knows our past, where we are now, and all that we can be. No one else can do that.



This isn't about being good enough to be a MLB pitcher. Each of us has a unique purpose for our days. Even though some scout may cross you off his list, just remember that Jesus made you perfect in God’s eyes and with God on your team, anything is possible. Look to Him and just keep pitching.


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