Unless you’re Mariano Rivera, you can’t succeed as an MLB pitcher without at least two good pitches. MLB hitters are just too good to get fooled by that one pitch over and over again if they’re sitting there waiting for it. You could have an Aroldis Chapman style, record-breakingly fast, fastball and the pros will still eventually time their swing to it. They say that to be a Starting Pitcher, you need three pitches. The most typical arsenal these days is a fastball, a curveball/slider, and a changeup. For those who don’t know what a changeup is, it’s a ball thrown about 7-8 miles per hour slower than the pitcher’s fastball, but looks just like the fastball when it leaves the pitcher’s hand. The point is to get the hitter to swing ahead of the pitch and throw off their timing. The changeup also often has downward break so that even if they make contact, it will be a weak groundball. The danger with the changeup is that if the hitter can guess it’s coming, it’s easier to hit than the fastball or the curveball/slider, because it comes slower or straighter than the previous two. You have to have a good fastball to set up the changeup, or else nobody will ever be fooled.

Exodus 14:19-29

Then the angel of God who was going before the host of Israel moved and went behind then, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the those of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness. And it lit up the night without one coming near the other all night.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptians forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily. And the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand before the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon the horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sa returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

The count was 0-2 against Pharaoh, and God was ready to put this one to bed. God used a lot of well placed fastballs to set this one up; he made it look like the Israelites were wandering, he put down a cloud to obscure view onto them, and he even opened up the waters for all to see. Pharaoh took the bait, started to swing, and couldn’t check it. He had committed to his action plan, but the changeup was perfectly thrown, and he didn’t stand a chance. This story just goes to show how much power and planning God takes when he wants something. The Israelites were oblivious to God’s incredible plan, and even were willing to sell themselves back into slavery in their fear. They had no reason to fear, though, as it was all part of God’s plan to demonstrate his true power to all the people. God isn’t some one trick pony in the low minor leagues with a triple digit fastball and no command—he is the almighty creator of the universe and our father. He can handle Pharaoh, and he can handle everything in this world (when it comes to sin, he already has!). Today, reflect back on stories (in your own life or others) where we can see God’s long term plan fleshed out. Trust him with your problems which seem way too grand in scope to ever be fixed, and in the meantime, simply serve him as best you can. Remember that, like baseball, this life doesn’t have a time limit. It’s going to take 27 outs regardless of what happens, so just do your best to serve the team and let God handle the grand scope of the game. Trust me; we’ll win this one.