I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old. Actually I played with my dad even before that, but when I was 6 I had the privilege of playing in the first T-ball league in the Atlanta area. What fun it was. I played baseball all the way through high school, and played softball for many years after that.

In high school I was a pitcher. With my dad’s help I learned to throw an overhand curve ball. It was my best pitch. It started out looking like it was going to be a strike, but then would "fall off the table," as they say in baseball language.

The only bad thing about that pitch was that it would often bounce in the dirt before it got to the catcher. So there was always the question about whether I should throw it if the other team had runners on base, and especially if a runner was on third base. If I threw the ball in the dirt, and it got by the catcher, then a run would score.

That’s where Kent came in. Kent was our catcher, and he was a good one. He was so hyper. When our other pitcher (his twin brother Brent) or I were not pitching well he would throw the ball back to us harder than we were throwing it. He would talk to us and tell us what we needed to throw next. But the most important thing he ever did was to block the ball in the dirt. I’ve never seen anyone do it better. I could throw my curveball because I knew that Kent could be trusted to stop it. He rarely let it get past him.

There is something of great value in knowing that you can trust someone. A pitcher wants to trust the catcher. A boss wants to trust the employee. The husband and wife want to trust each other. We all want someone we can trust.

I want to remind you of the greatest news of all. God is faithful. He is trustworthy. He never lets us down. He is always good to us. I know that there are things that happen in our lives that seem difficult to take. But God is always there for us.

The Old Testament character Joseph is one of my favorites. You can read his story in Genesis, chapters 37 through 50. A lot of bad things happened in his life. Perhaps the most devastating of all was that his brothers sold him into slavery. He also spent time in jail for a crime he did not commit. Through it all he trusted in God.

And late in life, when he was reunited with his brothers, Joseph’s attitude was unlike most people. He did not seek revenge. He was not angry. He said to his brothers, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." Joseph saw God’s loving hand at work in the most trying experience of his life. He knew that God was faithful.

God remains faithful today. He has never changed. You can trust Him. Will you do that? Will you look beyond your circumstances in life, and trust God to be good to you? He will do it. He is faithful.