God's Coaching #365

God's Coaching #365

New Year’s Eve is a time for joy and celebration. But in the sports world, there was nothing to be happy about on this day in 1972. That was the night the great Roberto Clemente died. Roberto, a native of Puerto Rico, was one of baseball’s all-time best. In an 18-year Hall of Fame career, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ strong-armed outfielder batted .317 with 3,000 hits, 245 home runs, and 1,305 RBIs. He was a 12-time All-Star who won four National League batting titles, 12 Gold Glove Awards, the 1966 National League MVP, and the 1971 World Series MVP. He also led the previously hapless Pirates to four play-off appearances and two World Series titles (1960 and 1971).

But on that New Year’s Eve night in 1972, Roberto died tragically in a plane crash while attempting to bring relief supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He was only 38 years old.

What’s the Score?

Why did Roberto die, especially when he was trying to do good for others? Tragedies like this often cause us to ask tough questions about life. We wonder, Why does God let bad things happen to good people? Left to our own limited understanding, we can blame God and question his goodness and love. But this is backward reasoning. It assumes that God owes us something when, actually, he doesn’t. A better question to ask is this: Why does God allow anything good to happen to us at all?

When God created the world, he made everything good. Bad things like death, evil, tragedy, sickness, and sorrow entered the world because of sin when Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command. The Bible says sin deserves death (Romans 6:23). As sinful beings, we don’t deserve anything good. The fact that anything good happens to us is a gift from a loving God. He even uses trials and tragedies for the good of true believers, although he doesn’t always explain why they happen. Job understood this when he said, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (Job 2:10). Instead of questioning God’s goodness, we should be thankful that he hasn’t given us what we really deserve. Incredibly, he blesses us with life, family, and friends, and offers us what we don’t deserve—salvation from sins through his Son, Jesus Christ. He is a good God indeed!

On the Ball

When difficulty comes, say a prayer of thanksgiving to God, even if you don’t understand why it’s happening.

Coach’s Comment

Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” Job 2:10