Review: 'Look What God Can Do'

It takes an act of God to get a St. Louis Cardinals fan to become a Chicago Cubs fan, but that’s exactly what happened with Pastor Tom Zobrist, author of the new book Look What God Can Do (with Bill Butterworth).

The Samaritan Ministries member and pastor of Liberty Bible Church in Eureka, Illinois, is the father of 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist, who wrote the foreword for the book.

Look What God Can Do ($14.99, 120 pages, Tyndale) is Tom’s testimony of how God has worked through not only his and Ben’s lives, but also through the lives of his wife, Cindi; their other sons, Noah and Pete; and daughters Serena and Jessica. The book evolved out of a talk that Tom gave shortly after his son helped the Cubs end their 108-year World Series championship drought. But it’s clear on one thing from the beginning:

There are plenty of baseball-related anecdotes throughout the book, like when Ben sat at the president’s table at the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast and gave the opening prayer, or when Tom threw out the first pitch to Ben at a Cubs game.

One of the stories the lifelong Cardinals fan tells is his reaction to finding out Ben, also a Cardinals fan while growing up, had signed with the rival Cubs in 2015 instead of San Francisco.

“I can’t believe you’re excited that I’m a Cub,” Ben admitted.

“I’m a Cub fan now!” I beamed with pride.

But mostly Tom focuses on giving God credit for what has happened in his family’s life.

“I get a lot of credit for the success that my son Ben is currently enjoying, and the truth of the matter is that much of what Ben has achieved has been in spite of me as opposed to because of me. … I’m so thankful that God’s grace can overcome failures.”

Tom also recounts:

• How God brought him to faith as a teenager and led him to marriage to Cindi.
• What it was like finding a pastorate.
• The challenges and joys of raising a family.
• And, finally, how Ben and his wife, Julianna, have glorified God in his successful Major League Baseball career with the Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, Kansas City Royals, and Chicago Cubs.

Throughout all of it, Tom returns to his theme: What God can do in our lives if we let Him. “God can do amazing things if we let Him work and just get out of the way,” he writes.

No matter if we’re Cubs or Cardinals fans.