The Increase All-Star DevotionalChikamu

ADAM WAINWRIGHT

HE MADE ME LIE DOWN

Heading into the 2011 season, I felt like everything was finally coming together for me. The fastball, the curve, the off-speed stuff—all of it was now in my wheelhouse. And the mental toughness I had developed over the years was beginning to pay big dividends for me and my team. The next season was going to be my best.

But when I threw that pitch in Spring Training, I knew something wasn’t right. I tried to shake it off, but my right elbow wouldn’t cooperate. I didn’t know it at the time, but my season was about to end. ESPN, MLB Network, and a host of other press outlets would gather at a news conference where Manager Tony La Russa would deliver the bad news to the masses.

But in the middle of all that, God was about to do something in my life that I never saw coming; something I couldn’t have scripted if I tried.

PSALM 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he refreshes my soul.

I know: We’ve all read or heard that Psalm before, probably more than once. It’s the most popular Psalm ever, and for good reason. The words that begin the second verse jump off the page, as if God is reminding me of something extremely important—something that could easily become a theme for certain! seasons of our lives.

"He makes me lie down."

We skip over that line because we’d prefer the “in green pastures” part. We skip over the first part, until it happens to us. It’s not what any of us want to hear, but it describes the reality of a loving God putting His hand on our shoulders, and pressing down until we’re lying on the ground, unable to get up and resume our normal activities. And for the 2011 season, make no mistake about it—I was on the ground.

And it was the best year of my career.

I mean it. I was forced to the ground by the hand of a loving God, and it was the best year of my career. I’ve told the rest of my story over at The Increase website. There, you’ll discover how and why it was the best year of my life. It was truly my season of surrender, and it was amazing to see what God gave me in return.