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On Sunday, May 15, the Cincinnati Reds lost against the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0. While this may not appear shocking for most folks…and while you may wonder what in the world this one game has to do with a devotion… this final score tells a few lessons. Are you ready? The Reds lost 1-0 against the Pirates. The Pirates won against the Reds 1-0. What you may not know is that the Pirates didn’t have any recorded hits during this game. The Reds started rookie, Hunter Greene that Sunday and Greene pitched 7 1/3 innings. Art Warren came in and finished the game for the Reds. These 2 men pitched a combined no hitter…and they still lost. This was just the 6th time in MLB history that a team allowed no hits during the game and still lost.

LESSONS TO  BE LEARNED:

You can do your absolute best and still lose. Hunter Greene pitched 7 full innings and 1 out in the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th inning, however, the Pirates got 3 men on base from walks and then a groundout allowed one of those walks to come in and score…hence winning 1-0 with no recorded hits. Y’all know what?

Sometimes I feel like I have given everything I got and feel like I did the best I could and even felt as if I won… and yet lost. Someone got upset or wasn’t pleased. Someone thought I should have done something differently. Things were going great and that one person whining and complaining ruined it all. I have a feeling I ain’t the only one am I? Sometimes you feel like you lost even though you should have won.

Would you like to know something else? Sometimes you win even though you should have lost. You recorded no hits. You didn’t give your best. You half-tailed the task. You gave nothing to the work being done…and yet…you win in the long run from those around you. This happens often, doesn’t it? Sometimes you were privileged to be included in the win even though you did abso-stinkin-lutely nothing. Sometimes you win even though you should have lost.

Let’s go one more lesson, alright? You can lose even when you should have won… you can win even when you should have lost…no matter what, leave it all on the field. Galatians 6:9 says, “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit (MSG).” Win or lose…keep playing hard and give God your best.

REV. J. CAMERON BAILEY is pastor of Kenbridge Christian Church. He can be reached at jamescameronbailey@gmail.com.