Recognizing God’s Hand in Success

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Since my last post, a few things have happened. I thought I would spend this post talking about those things and how I see them.

Sweet Success

Most of you have heard by now that the high school baseball team I coach, Umpqua Valley Christian, won our school’s 4th State Championship this past weekend. It was a great story of young men playing great baseball at the right time. But more than that, it was incredible to watch these guys work through the adversity of the season (we started 2-4, and this team went 24-1 the rest of the way while finishing on a 20-game winning streak. It was awesome to watch from where we were to where we finished. This is my 25th year coaching at UVC, and the Lord has been very kind to allow me to coach in 7 State Championship games and win 4 of them. I’ll talk more about this later.

But that wasn’t the only victory in our church this last week. I’ve got a few things to tell you:

First, Nathan and Hannah Quilla welcomed their daughter, Adalie Patricia Quilla, on Friday. This is Dave and Pam Quilla’s new granddaughter. What a sweet moment for their entire family. We thank God for a healthy baby and mom.

This last Saturday was the Douglas County Lamb Show. CLF had several families with kids who were participating. Our daughter, Bethany, was one of them. After celebrating our championship in Salem, I returned in time for the auction. One of the things that stood out to me was how supportive the CLF families were of one another. It was fun watching bids go up for CLF lambs by CLF people. Our family is incredibly grateful for how our CLF family has supported our kids in these auctions. Now, the kids were fantastic. Watching the little ones go at it was especially fun. Plus, they are crazy cute!

Finally, this past weekend, our very own Ky Bendele was promoted to Master Sargent Senior Non-Commissioned Officer in the Oregon Air National Guard. Ky has been a member of CLF since our second year as a church, and he and Heather have been faithful servants in our church. Ky uses his time in the service to share the gospel and care for his fellow guard. Congrats, Ky!!

How to View Success

I have always been deeply affected by something the Lord told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 8:17-18, when He said, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

You’ll notice in this text that the Lord told the people of Israel not to take credit for the wealth they would accumulate in the Promised Land and that they should “remember the Lord your God…who gives you the power to get wealth.” This is very instructive when success happens because it reminds us never to forget the Lord and that He’s the One who gave us the ability to succeed.

When I look at things in life, like I’ve mentioned above: state championships, lamb show success, babies being born, and promotions, I cannot help but see God’s hand. In my baseball life, there is simply no explanation for UVC’s success in baseball than the kindness of God. We are the smallest school to have ever won a baseball title and have done it four times. I feel the same way about our church. There is only one explanation for the growth, unity, and joy we see right now…the kindness of God.

The test of success is often more challenging than the test of adversity. This is because success can make us relax and become ungrateful and proud. It’s my opinion that the problem is not success. It’s how we handle success. The same can be said of wealth, comfort, and health. Do you see God’s hand in your accomplishments?

Looking Ahead

This coming Sunday, we will study Numbers 11 and the story of the Lord giving the people what they longed for. We will see that God uses trials to remove “Egypt” from our hearts.

From the Cheap Seats

I don’t remember this, but this would’ve been a great weekend to watch: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5267640/2024/05/28/michael-jordan-and-woody-harrelson-tales-from-the-kenny-rogers-classic-weekend/.
The NCAA Baseball Super Regionals are up this weekend. I’m watching Texas A&M…against the duckies…And the OSU Beavers against the Kentucky Wildcats. My two favorite schools playing at the highest level. Pretty sweet.
My cheap seats wouldn’t be complete without these pictures.
- One is me showing my wife, Jill, a number 4, and our guys dogpiling in the background.
- Another is our family with “Big Blue.”