“O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in
man who walks to direct his own steps.”
– Jeremiah 10:23 (ESV)

In the game of baseball, the knuckleball is probably the hardest pitch to throw, hit, and catch. The pitcher doesn’t know where it’s going when he throws it; the hitter has difficulty adjusting to the ball’s random movement; and the poor catcher can only try his best to knock it down as it crosses the plate. Phil Niekro made a living throwing the knuckleball during his career and earned his way into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. In the modern era, R. A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield mastered the knuckleball and enjoyed major league success. The knuckleball is  slow by major league standards, only traveling at a speed of 60-65 miles per hour. It seems to have a mind of its own as it darts, dips, and drops in every direction.

Jeremiah 10:23 reminds us that you and I can be a great deal like the knuckleball. Too often we find ourselves in trouble as a result of trying to direct our own lives. Like the knuckleball, we often move this way, dip that way, and flutter in every possible direction. Has your life ever been so out of control that you acted like a knucklehead? Jeremiah’s message is that it doesn’t have to be that way. When we surrender to Jesus, our lives are no longer our own. It’s no longer up to us to determine our path. Trying to direct our own life is as hopeless as trying to direct a knuckleball. When we realize our lives are not our own and that God’s plan is always better than anything we could ever imagine, we have a chance. It’s about surrender—we need to surrender our will to God. He will show us the way to go and give us all the direction we need.

Lord, thank You for loving me even when I act like a knucklehead. Teach me Father to be obedient to the wisdom found in Your Word. Help me today to surrender to Your will and not my own. Amen.