Catching Hope: The Intersection of Faith and Baseball 

Seeking to nurture your spiritual growth and build your faith? Download Abide for faith-based meditations. Explore practices like centering prayer & meditation on biblical themes. Find peace & meaning with God’s Word.

When my son, Jordan, was a new Little League baseball player, he and several of his teammates really struggled at the plate and it hurt the team’s morale. His wonderful coach recognized that a key aspect of team sports was building these young boys’ confidence. Catching hope was just as important as catching the ball.  

An In-game Example of Catching Hope 

To encourage his players, the coach taught them about bunting. For some reason, the kids loved it and decided they’d rather bunt than try to hit the ball into the outfield. During one particular game, Jordan got up to bat, bunted, and was safe at first base. The next two batters also bunted and got singles. Obviously, since two players can’t be on the same base at the same time, Jordan was now at third base.  

I sat in the stands, hoping my son was about to score his first-ever run. But when his teammate got up to the plate, I realized there was a big problem. In a team full of kids who loved bunting, safely landing on home plate seemed nearly impossible. And it was. 

Jordan’s teammate bunted and the ball landed about eight feet in front of home plate. The batter took off running and arrived safely at first. But as Jordan ran home from third, the catcher was already standing on home plate, holding the ball in his hand. With the bases loaded, Jordan couldn’t run back to third. He was out. He headed back to the dugout, his shoulders slumped. I felt so bad for him. I imagined him sitting in the dugout, fighting tears. Or worse, being angry and blaming his teammate for his out.  

But as the next player walked up to bat, I heard my son yelling from the dugout. “Max, don’t bunt! You need to hit the ball really far so Trevor can make it home! You can do it!” 

I was so proud of him. Instead of wallowing about his own out, he was focused on helping his team, giving them a boost of hope. When life isn’t going well for us, it can be hard to set aside our own disappointment and encourage others.  

What the Bible Says About Catching Hope 

Doing good—and looking for the good in other people—is a surefire way to catch a big dose of hope.  

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” Galatians 6:9 (NIV). 

Just as Jordan’s Little League coach searched for a way to help his young players succeed, we need to find ways to help and encourage the people around us. As Christians, we are all on the same team, and we share the goal of helping others catch the hope that can only be found in Jesus. When we show love to those around us, God will bless our efforts and when the time is right, we’ll see how God is working through us to bring about positive changes. 

Every day—and every inning—offers us new chances to do better. 

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV). 

If you struck out at your last at-bat, just remember that today is a new day. Whatever happened yesterday has no bearing on today. No matter how many balls you dropped or errors you made, there’s always hope because there’s another inning—or a fresh new day—right around the corner. God gives us as many chances as we need. We just have to keep trying and asking Him to help us along the way. Reflecting on God’s steadfast love and new mercies each morning is a wonderful step toward catching hope. 

Everyone has a role on the team, and sometimes, our most important job is to be an encourager and a hope spreader. 

“You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it” 1 Corinthians 12:27 (NIRV). 

We humans tend to think of the pitcher as the most valuable player on a baseball team. We think of the outfielders—or worse, the players sitting on the bench in the dugout—as the least valuable players. But God doesn’t think that way. He created each of us with a unique purpose and one person isn’t any more important in the body of Christ than another. Just as a baseball team is most successful when the players work together, the body of Christ functions best when we all fulfill the role that God has given us. And while cheering others on from the dugout might feel unimportant to us, God can use our encouragement to empower and equip others for their unique, God-given role.  

Listen now to a short segment of this Abide meditation based on Galatians 6:9. Let God speak to your heart about holding on to hope when you’re weary.

When we work together as a team, persist in doing good and encourage others to do the same, and remember that each new day can be a fresh start, we are well on our way to catching hope and spreading it to those around us. 

For more help catching hope, check out the Abide app. Our 1500+ guided meditations all exist to help you draw closer to God. Use this link for 25% off a premium subscription, giving you access to our entire library of content.  

Diane Stark is a wife, the mother of five, and a writer. She writes about the important things in life: her family and her faith.