The
phrase 'Hedging one's bets' was
coined late in the 17th century. It
referred to the laying off of a bet by taking out smaller bets with other
lenders. The purpose of this was to
avoid being unable to pay out on the original larger bet. The verb 'to hedge' derives from the noun
hedge, i.e. a fence made from a row of bushes or trees. These hedges were normally made from the spiny
Hawthorn, which makes an impenetrable hedge when laid. To hedge a piece of land was to limit it in
terms of size and that this gave rise to the 'secure, limited risk' meaning. Hedge funds, much in the news nowadays, take
their name from their method of limiting, i.e. hedging, their risk.
The
phrase ‘Covering all the bases’ means
to deal with every part of a situation or activity and has its origin in the
game of baseball. In every baseball situation, a defensive player is
assigned to "cover" (i.e., be available to make a play by being near)
a "base," one of four positions, arranged in a diamond shape, which
an offensive player attempts to circumnavigate, counterclockwise. It is a
fundamental error to be in the wrong place ... so, by extension, "cover
your bases" means to make preparations thoroughly.
Taken together, they sound like wise and logical things to do but should we be relying on
wise and logical things?
“That is why I told you that
you will die in (under the curse of) your sins; for if you do not believe that
I am He [Whom I claim to be—if you do not adhere to, trust in, and rely on Me],
you will die in your sins”. John 8:24 AMP
“Lean on, trust in, and be
confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own
insight or understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 AMP
A
man named Micah (not the prophet) decided it was time to cover all his
bases. It seemed as if every neighbor
had a different god to believe in. He
decided (much like the Greeks in Paul the Apostle’s time who worshiped many
gods and erected an altar to the unknown god – Acts 17:23) to set up images of
a number of gods in his house. It
appears that he wanted to make sure he was thoroughly prepared to not offend
any god by worshiping them all. He was covering all his bases. Then a man came to his town that was from a
priestly line of a god he had no image for.
He talked this man into becoming a personal priest for him by offering
him room and board plus a yearly salary.
This man agreed to do so. Micah
then said, “Now I know that the Lord will favor me, since I have this man to be
my priest”
(Judges 17). By this last action Micah hedged his bets on not offending
any of the gods. In man’s eyes these
would be wise and logical things to do, but we know from the books of Judges
that when men did what was right in their own eyes they forsook God, turned to man-made
images, and did evil in the sight of God.
Brothers
and Sisters, it is time for us to quit hedging our bets and covering all our
bases. That is God’s job! He created us, and just like our earthly fathers
He guides us, protects us, and wraps us in His love. Motivated by that love He watches over us
making sure we are secure and safe in His hands. He wants us to rely on Him and rely on Him
alone!
“Jesus said to her, Did I
not tell you and promise you that if you would believe and rely on Me, you would see the glory of God”? John 11:40 AMP
“And this is His order (His
command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His
Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just
as He has commanded us.” 1 John 3:23 AMP
Join
me today in letting go of our own way of doing things, by our own efforts, and
crying out to Him that we choose to rely completely on Him. Imagine what our Mighty God will do in such
yielded hearts!
“I will say of the Lord, He
is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on
Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust!”
Psalm 91:2 AMP
“He called out, Lord, I
believe! [I rely on, I trust, I cleave
to You!] And he worshiped Him.” John 9:38 AMP
