[x_custom_headline type=”left” level=”h4″ looks_like=”h4″]Have you ever attended a Little League baseball game? I have attended more than I could ever count, I am certain. I was a Little League baseball player myself, and each of my three sons were as well. And now, I attend Little League baseball games with my grandchildren.[/x_custom_headline]

In my experience with Little League baseball, I have found that once the kids get a bit older to wear the players themselves are doing the pitching, one of the things the Little League coaches teach their players about, is chatter. Maybe you’ve been sitting at a game and heard the coach yell from the dugout to his players in the field, “Let me hear some chatter out there!” Then all of a sudden the players in the field, along with their teammates in the dugout, will begin chattering, “Hey batter, batter. Hey batter, batter. Swing!”

The purpose of the chatter is to get inside of the opposing batter’s head, as well as to get the timing of his swing out of sync with each pitch. A young, inexperienced batter will often lose focus when everyone is yelling at him, and thereby mistime the pitches he is thrown, and strike out.

One day as I was preparing to attend one of my grandson Malachi’s baseball games, I began thinking about the kids and their baseball chatter. And as I did, I thought to myself, that is exactly what the devil does with inexperienced Christians. He fills their head with all of his chatter, doing everything he can to cause them to lose focus on what the Lord has told them, and promised them in His Word. And often, when their thoughts are misdirected because of all of his chatter, they usually get discouraged about the things they are dealing with, allow their faith to grow weak, and then give up.

There is a passage in the book of Revelation that reminds me of this.

[x_blockquote cite=”Revelation 16:13 KJV” type=”left”]“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”[/x_blockquote]

Maybe when you read this verse above you were thinking, what in the world does this have to do with anything you’re writing about? Well, when I read this, I see frogs croaking and croaking and croaking, making their annoying noises. To me, it’s like all of that baseball chatter going on, trying to cause distractions, but in this case, it’s demonic.

You see, this is exactly the way the devil works in people’s lives. They set out to obey God, and get involved in their local church for example, but almost immediately the croaking from the devil starts. He starts harassing them about their past, and reminding them of every sin and every failure in their life, stealing from them their joy in working in God’s House and their confidence to do it. And he does this even though he already knows all of it is under the Blood of Jesus.

And of course, he does this in order to cause them to lose their zeal for working in the Kingdom of God both now and in the future. And if he succeeds with all this croaking, they drop out of the Ministry of Helps, and chalk up another strike out in their box score.

And then there are those faith projects every single one of us have. The enemy would love to keep croaking until your only focus is on how impossible your circumstances are, instead of having faith and complete confidence in what God said about you and your circumstances.

So then the croaking gets you off of your stance of faith, and you strike out. After which, of course, the devil will try to convince you that either God or your pastor are the reason your faith failed, and in most cases, badger you even further about allowing him to get you to lose your focus due to all of his croaking.

[highlight]Remember when Peter walked on the water to go to Jesus, but then lost his focus because of the wind and the waves (see Matthew 14:28-31)?[/highlight] You know as well as I do that Satan was croaking up a storm at Peter (no pun intend. Well, maybe). This is the devil’s method of operating against us.

Just as I have been to countless Little League baseball games, the same could also be said for my attendance at Major League Baseball games. And I not only attend them in my local area, but have been blessed to go to games in Major League ballparks all over America. And in none of the professional baseball games I have attended, have I ever heard a big league team chatter, “Hey batter, batter.” Not even once.

The reason for this is because for a baseball player to make it to the Major Leagues, he would have had to overcome the distractions produced from Little League baseball chatter, many years prior. And it is exactly the same with you and me as believers, when it comes to the aggravating chatter of the devil.

You see, to mature spiritually we have to come to the place where the devil’s mind games are no longer as effective against us as they once were. In fact, once you know his tactics, you can better equip yourself to defeat him.

Part of this spiritual maturing process comes as we take advantage of all of the resources to overcome the enemy that the Lord has provided to us through His Word. And then once that Word has been sown into our hearts, we must refuse to allow anything or anyone to uproot it from us. Instead, we must get a firm grip on it and hold it tightly, not being distracted by the chatter of the enemy.

[x_blockquote cite=”Luke 8:15 NASU” type=”left”]”But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”[/x_blockquote]

Since we are using a baseball analogy, bringing forth fruit would be the same as hitting a home run. So, the next time the devil starts up with all the “Hey batter, batter” stuff, don’t lose your focus. Instead, keep your eye on the ball, which in our case are the promises of God, and hit one out of the park!