Monday Morning Devotion-April 6, 2026
Making God Smile
Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live. Psalm 119:135
It’s baseball season again. Time to revisit some interesting correlations I discovered between the diamond game and the Bible. Here's how (excerpted from "In the Big Inning God Created Baseball” by Jim Crosby.
Baseball is a game of statistics. Everything a player does on the field is translated into numbers. Hits, runs scored, and runs batted in are just the starting point for hitters. Pitchers are judged on earned run average, walks vs. strikeouts, wins and losses, games saved, etc. etc.
In fact, now they time the home run trots of hitters and rank them as to slowest runs around the bases to quickest ones. "The Tater Trot Tracker" has been doing this since 2010.
There is now even a daily leaderboard that shows the times of all MLB home runs; how fast or slow the hitter got from home plate around the bases and back to home. Now how do you correlate that to a lesson from the Bible?
Smiling off the Diamond
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Smile on me, your servant; teach me the right way to live.
Psalm 119:135
The smile of God is the goal of your life.
Rick Warren
The Purpose Driven Life
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There is no doubt that the Home Run trot brings a smile to the face of fans of the homer-hitter’s team. Conversely, the fans of the opposite team, not so much. In our daily game of life one of our main purposes should be to do things that are pleasing to God. We want the Almighty to smile down on us; to look with pleasure upon our actions and the way we are playing the game.
So, what does make God smile? Is it all that hard? Rick Warren's mega-best-selling book "The Purpose Driven Life"1 took the small-groups of churches everywhere by storm. It was all the rage as it's 40-day plan for playing the Game of Life by God's rules spoke to the religious community in a forthright and clear cut manner. Everybody wanted to know what does make God smile. Here, in abbreviated form, are the ideas proposed by Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
1) God smiles when we love him supremely: That makes sense. It is natural to smile when we know someone loves us. Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
2) God smiles when we trust him completely: Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when children trust their love and wisdom, your faith makes God
happy.
3) God smiles when we obey Him wholeheartedly: Sometimes we try partial obedience. We want to pick and choose the commands to obey. Obedience is
important because it proves your love for Him.
4) God smiles when we use our abilities: God enjoys watching every detail of your life. Whether you are working, playing, resting or eating. Not just when you are reading the Bible, attending church, praying, or sharing your faith. He doesn't miss a single move you make.
I like Warren's example taken from the film, "Chariots of Fire." Olympic runner Eric Liddell says: "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast: When I run, I feel God's pleasure."
That example gives me pleasure because I know when I am writing it is pleasing to God.. How are you pleasing God? Examine the ways and it will bring a smile from God.
I think that sometimes our relationship with God is too, uh, formal. Yes, He is the Creator of all things big and small. He does personally keep the planet going day in and day out. That's a big job. So big we might think that he doesn't have time for us and our petty problems.
Perhaps, we are fearful of being sacrilegious if we seem too chummy with God in our prayers. But the fact is, that while it is important to be respectful of the Almighty Heavenly Father, He wants to be friends with us. The ball is in our court, er…on our diamond to use baseball terminology.
He is always there for us, but we need to call on Him. Yes, he does protect us from harm and even our own improper actions. He does forgive us for our sins when we ask Him to and repent, i.e. change our ways with regards to those actions that need forgiveness.
Rick Warren says: "Every human activity, except sin, can be done for God's pleasure if you do it with an attitude of praise. You wash dishes (imagine that), repair a machine, sell a product, write a computer program, grow a crop and raise a family for the glory of God.
Like a proud parent, God especially enjoys watching you use the talents and abilities He has given you. God intentionally gifted us differently for His enjoyment. He has made some to be athletic and some to be analytical. You may be gifted at mechanics or mathematics, or music or thousands of other skills. All these abilities can bring a smile to God's face. The Bible says: 'He has shaped each person in turn; now he watches everything we do.' (Psalm 33;15 Msg)
You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring Him enjoyment by being you. Anytime you reject any part of yourself, you are rejecting God's wisdom and sovereignty in creating you.
God says: 'You have no right to argue with your Creator. You are merely a clay pot shaped by a potter. The clay doesn't ask, 'Why did you make me this way?' (Isaiah 45:9)
The good news is that God likes you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to let you stay that way. You can be a better friend of God. You can have a better life. Just love Him, trust Him, obey Him and use your own abilities to honor Him.
Prayer: Lord thank you for this lesson on the importance of a smile. May our actions honor you and cause you to smile down on us. Amen!