During a 2004 game against the Cubs, Alex Cora of the Dodgers fouled fourteen straight pitches before hitting a home run. That took determination, concentration, and an unwillingness to give up. Cora battled through tough pitch after pitch until he got one he could handle. Life is full of situations where it is easier to give up than battle until we get a pitch we can handle. How many marriages have been abandoned because one spouse wanted an easier life? How many athletes have been overlooked while new athletes were given time and attention? All too often, Christians have grown weary and given into sin, thinking, This temptation is too hard; I’ll get right with God later.

As Jesus contemplated His fate on the cross, He prayed, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mk 14:36). What cup has God given you that you are begging, or perhaps even demanding, that He take away? The Apostle Peter wrote, “You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to be distressed by various trials so that the genuineness of your faith—more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pt 1:6–7). Will you live a life that says, “Not my will, but Yours,” or will you muddle through life swinging only at easy pitches?