Sports, in some ways, have always been a microcosm of real life. I remember the days when Wide World of Sports aired, and one of the famous lines was “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.” That line sums up sports (and life) in one sentence. As someone who has loved sports, whether playing, coaching, or watching, I know there are life lessons you can learn that easily translate into daily life. One of those lessons is perseverance. This is especially prevalent in women’s sports because it feels as if women have always been playing catch-up to be on a level playing field with men’s sports. There are far more opportunities for male athletes to build a career in professional sports than for women.
One area that lacked any true professional opportunity was baseball, but now there is a glimmer of hope. The debut of a new women’s professional baseball league marks a meaningful moment for female athletes who have trained, competed, and dreamed in a sport where professional opportunities have often been limited. While I could use this article to talk about sports (another one of my passions), I want to go in a different direction. How do we take a lesson from a story like this and use it to further understand perseverance, patient faithfulness, and the courage to keep showing up even when the path forward is uncertain? This not only parallels life but also the Christian journey.
How Have Women Persevered in Baseball History?
Women have been around baseball since its inception. In 1866, Vassar College formed the first organized team of female baseball players. The team played for twelve years, but parents’ concerns about their daughters’ safety in baseball eventually led to its disbandment. From that point forward, women dabbled in and out of the game. There would be individual cases like Alta Weiss joining a men’s semi-pro team at age seventeen to pitch for them. While there were other instances like these along the way, none of them produced substantial opportunities for women in the game. It was not until 1943 that Phil Wrigley formed the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. It is questionable whether this was purely about athletic competition, because the women had to wear makeup, attend charm school, and, at all times, feed into the perception of how a woman was supposed to look and behave. The league lasted twelve seasons and eventually folded in 1954.
There would be other starts and stops along the way, as well as advances for women and girls in the sport. One famous example came in 2014, when Mo’ne Davis became the first girl to win a game and pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series (LLWS). She was also the first African-American girl to play in the LLWS and the first little leaguer to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated while still an active member of the league. Moments like these and others have been foundational to the formation of the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL), which began playing games this year.
What Can Women’s Baseball Teach Christians about Perseverance?
Whether baseball or some other endeavor, stories like these can have applications that can help us as we consider our own walk with Jesus. Allow me to share a few with you.
Why Does Following Christ Require Courage?
I wish I could tell you that following Jesus is a simple process that lays out the plan clearly before you, so you can see all the steps ahead, but that is not how it is. Following Jesus is a journey of trust where often you are not sure what the next step is or what will happen when you take it. Think of the disciples Jesus chose. They left everything to follow him. It took courage to make that decision because they did not know what they were getting themselves into. However, because they trusted Jesus, they were willing to follow him anyway. That is a mark of courage. It could be possible that you are looking to pursue a degree, start a ministry, or do something else you feel God is calling you to do, and you don’t know what lies around the corner. In moments like these, when you know God is directing, step out and leave the details to him. That will take faith, but it also takes courage.
Why Does Faithfulness Matter Even When We Do Not See the Fruit?
The enduring story of the women who tried to make inroads into professional baseball is that many of them saw the vision but never saw their dreams come to fruition. There is a reality in the Christian journey that sometimes your role is just to lay the foundation. In 1 Corinthians, Paul mentions that some of us plant and some water, but God gives the increase. There will be times on your journey when you are setting the stage for those who will follow you. The Old Testament highlights many people who kept their faith, waiting for a Messiah whom they would not see in their lifetime. Hebrews 11 mentions many of these who walked by faith, believing a promise that would not come to pass in their lifetime.
All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. – Hebrews 11:13
If you are sharing the gospel with someone, you may not be the one who leads them to Christ, but you may be the one who plants the initial seed. If you are praying for an unsaved loved one, maybe they won’t come to Christ in your lifetime, but they will later. Your prayers were effective even though you did not see the result you prayed for.
Regardless of the role you play, when you fulfill God’s plan, you get to share in his reward. Consider these words of Paul:
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. – 1 Corinthians 3:6-8
The work you do matters, and even if you don’t see the fruit, it does not mean that your efforts are all in vain. Sometimes you plant, sometimes you water, and sometimes you reap.
Why Does Hidden Faithfulness Prepare Us for Open Doors?
Whenever you attempt to break through in anything, much of the work you do happens in the dark. There is a longstanding idiom that says, “It takes ten years to become an overnight success.” Most of your walk with Jesus happens outside the public eye. Honestly, no one sees the time you spend praying, fellowshiping with the Lord, studying, reading, or preparing. All of this happens in the dark. Yet it is what you do in the dark and how you prepare in the dark that positions you to be what God desires you to be in the light. Matthew 6 tells us that what we do in secret, God will reward openly. Another way of thinking about it is that you can’t wait for the moment to come to get ready for it; you must be prepared when it arrives. Therefore, you should always ask yourself, are you doing your best when no one is watching? Those are the moments that will prepare you for when the lights come on. If you can’t do your best work in the dark, don’t expect your best results in the light. Remember, you may not know when the opportunity will come, but you can be ready when it does.
Why Should Christians Keep Knocking on Closed Doors?
What does women’s baseball have to do with our journey of faith in Jesus? In some ways, nothing, and in some ways, everything. The women who kept plugging away through years of closed doors and limited opportunities remind us that perseverance is not always quick, and the breakthrough may be for yourself or someone behind you. Remember, just because the door is closed today, it does not mean it will be closed forever. Yet, it is the continual knocking on closed doors that allows us to experience the breakthroughs we seek. That is a lesson we all need to learn. With that, I leave you with the words of Jesus.
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. – Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
Frequently Asked Questions about Women’s Baseball, Perseverance, and Faith
- Why is women’s professional baseball significant?
Women’s professional baseball is significant because it creates new opportunities for female athletes in a sport where professional pathways have historically been limited. - What can Christians learn from women’s baseball?
Christians can learn that perseverance often requires courage, patience, hidden preparation, and faithfulness even when doors stay closed for a long time. - What does the Bible say about planting and watering?
In 1 Corinthians 3:6-8, Paul teaches that one person may plant, another may water, but God is the One who brings lasting growth. - Why does hidden faithfulness matter?
Hidden faithfulness matters because God often uses unseen preparation, prayer, study, practice, and obedience to prepare us for future opportunities. - How can believers respond when a door seems closed?
Believers can keep praying, keep preparing, keep obeying, and keep trusting God, remembering that a closed door today does not mean it will be closed forever.
For Further Reading
Photo Credit: Jakob Rosen/Unsplash
He is the author of The Pursuit of Purpose, which helps readers understand how God leads them into his will, and the author of The Pursuit of Victory: How To Conquer Your Greatest Challenges and Win In Your Christian Life. Clarence is also committed to helping 10,000 people learn how to study the Bible and has released his first course, Bible Study Basics, to achieve that goal. To learn more about his ministry and resources, please visit clarencehaynes.com.
Originally published August 31, 2026.
