By Brenda Cannon Henley
In 1988, Orel Hirshiser pitched a shutout in game 7 of the Baseball World Series to win it all. He was MVP that year. He went on the Johnny Carson show like you do when you win that kind of game. Johnny showed a clip during the very tense game of a very calm Orel as he appeared to be talking to himself as he waited in the dugout to pitch again. Johnny wanted to know what he was saying to himself.

Orel looked sheepish and said he wasn’t talking. He was singing. Johnny laughingly asked Orel to sing for the audience what he had been singing at the game that kept him so calm. Orel blushed like crazy and tried to say no, but everybody cheered and clapped. He said he would, but warned that he wasn’t a very good singer. You could have heard a pin drop as he quietly, shakily sang “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

Dear Believer, I don’t know what high stakes contest you are involved in today. I do know that our God inhabits the praise of his people. Praising the Lord is a good thing to do when you need to be calm because the pressure is so great. Praising God does not guarantee that you will win game 7, but it does mean that the Lord will be there with you. It also means He can use you to tell others about Himself.

I think Orel had no plans for saying one spiritual thing while he was on TV that night. When he was under pressure he chose to praise God. Then God, in His wisdom, had him sing the doxology to millions of people one night on television.

A lot of Christians are wondering if these are the end times. A lot of Christians have always wondered that at all times. Just before Christ ascended into heaven, his disciples were asking the same thing. Is this the end times? I expect Jesus would say to us today the exact same thing he said to them that day. “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I used to read that as a license to travel the world. But Orel Hirshiser’s experience taught me that I had the emphasis on the wrong person and on the wrong word. I thought it was about me and being. But that verse is really about God and will. “You WILL be MY witnesses…” It is a promise more than an affirmation. Our mission is just to testify to what we have witnessed of God in our lives. God’s job is to amplify that testimony.

What song will I be singing during the hard parts of this day?

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at 409 781 8788, or
[email protected]

[BCH: Apr-18-2023]