Catching a Knuckle Ball

Job 1 6: One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."

⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

⁹ "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

¹² The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

¹³ One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁴ a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, ¹⁵ and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

¹⁶ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

¹⁷ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

¹⁸ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, ¹⁹ when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"

Talk about a bad run!

When I was in high school, I was a catcher for a knuckle ball pitcher. I was used especially for this pitcher . I wasn't sure it was because I was good or crazy!

A knuckle ball pitch is a pitch that starts out uncontrolled and gets worse..... It is a difficult pitch to throw since there needs to be no spin on the ball. The aerodynamics of the pitch are very weird and depend on many factors.

Something I learned was don't always expect to have the ball go in the expected direction. At the last minute, the pitch could dive or rise. If a batter hit a foul tip, I had no idea where it was going. I can attest to this by the broken fingers on my right had from foul tips.

The ball seems to be going on a set trajectory when it leaves the pitcher's hand only to take a completely different direction.

Sounds like Job and sounds like me. God threw Job a knuckle ball and it sure did mess up his life, for awhile. Job was expecting the ball to go in one direction only to get a foul tip in the face.

So it is with me... God has thrown some knuckle balls at me recently. I am fortunate I have the catching experience to know what is expected may not happen in the intended way as I wait for another knuckle ball on the Adventure in Middle Grove.