BY GIGI DELGADO
We've all heard it or maybe even said it: "The ball is in your court." It's a phrase that comes with some sort of expectation that not just something has to happen next, but more like, someone has to make it happen. If the ball is in someone else's court, we judge the other person whose court the ball's in while waiting impatiently for him or her to get a grip, or get a clue and get moving.
But what if your'e the one whose court holds the ball while others wait? In other words, what if the reason people are "stuck" in some areas of their lives is because they're waiting for us to make a move?
Ahá! Suddenly we don't feel so "judgy" anymore, do we? (I'm not even sure if that's a word, but you get me, right?)
I've had to continuously repent and rid myself of the judgmental thoughts that constantly creep into my head. I hate to admit it, but judging others is one of my most difficult behaviors to stop.
Just a few days ago, I was making the eternal line to get tested for COVID, as I had been recently exposed to several people carrying the virus. Being that it was the day after Christmas, the time it took between the beginning of the line to the entrance of the park where the tests were taking place was one hour. Then, once inside the park, two and a half more hours of stop and go and Disney World-style zig-zagging awaited me until I was probed with a stick up my nose. Up my nose.
After an hour of crawling in line, I'm finally just approaching the entrance of the park, when a car that wasn't in line cuts in, its driver visually begging to the person in the car in front of me to let her in.
"DON'T DO IT! NO! DON'T DO IT! DON'T LET HER IN!" I yelled in my car while my dog stared at me like I was some crazy lady.
And I kept going:
"Oooooh nooooooo! You did it! You had to let her in! What kind of a moron lets someone in after making an hour-long crawl just to get to the entrance! Who knows how much longer this is going to take now! Aggggghhhh!"
Then I heard "the voice" tell me,
"Why are you so worked-up? It's just one car! Could it be that you're jealous?"
Ugh! Yes! That was it!
I was jealous of this person who didn't have to do the hour long initial line, that she was getting away with a shorter COVID test line! I wanted to be the one cutting in line and getting away with it so I could be the one gaining one hour of my life at the expense of others!
God was showing me a revelation of what was in my heart. At that precise moment, the ball was in my court. I had a choice to make: act upon the revelation by repenting and acknowledging the pain I carry that led me to that behavior (jealousy, anger, orphan heart, etc), or simply marvel at the revelation itself and do nothing about it. A few nights before this incident, I was writing a Christmas letter for a church and I was thinking about the shepherds and the magi that had the revelation about the birth of Jesus and how they were invited to go see Him. The ball was in their court. They didn't just talk to others about the revelation - they actually took action.
The shepherds said: “Let us go straight to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” (Luke 2:15). What would've happened if they hadn't gone? Or if the magi hadn't visited Him with gifts? What if Mary had doubted the angel and taken it upon herself to "fix this mess?" What if Joseph had been in awe of what the angel told him, even enjoyed being chosen by God for this, but didn't actually believe he was worthy and decided to not get married to Mary?
I realized this week that many times I am in awe of a revelation, yet I don't take the next steps that require MY ACTION for that revelation to bear fruit in me. The ball is in my court but without action, a revelation —as beautiful as it is— is meaningless, fruitless. Poetic emptiness, if you will.
If a revelation hasn't created transformation in you, perhaps it's because you still need to take action on it. God is inviting us to "go straight to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” Will you go?
I had a revelation back in 2018 about something the Lord wanted me to do. The ball has been in my court since then. He's inviting me to co-labor with Him in a few projects, yet three years later, I still haven't made my move. I have told many about the beauty of His invitation, but when people ask me if I started, I unfortunately have to say, "No, not yet."
My lack of action tells me I don't trust Him to do through me what He promised to do.
But today I've decided to take action! Today, I am responding to His invitation. Today, I've decided to trust that what He says is true by writing this blog post to tell you that writing this story is me taking action on His invitation from 2018, when Papa gently invited me to write about His revelations and my journey of falling in love with Him.
Now that YOU read this, the ball is in YOUR court. Have you been filled with information without transformation? Have you felt stuck and resent others who seem to be "getting ahead?" Are you being reminded RIGHT NOW of something God invited you to do?
It is God who has put the ball in our court. Are we willing to visit our Bethlehem and see what He's prepared for us?
Maybe, just maybe, if we trust Him and take action, specially when things don't make sense, not only do we experience change, but we get to actually "cut in line" in the sometimes painful journey of healing.