Stick with the Game Plan
Bible Reading: Psalm 119:1-8
Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts. Psalm 119:2
Bruiser Bootkanski was the best. Without question, he was the greatest quarterback ever in the NFL. Cheerleaders adored him, kids idolized him, and all the cereal companies wanted his picture on their boxes. Bruiser was a total football hero … at least until the big game.
All his life Bruiser had waited to play in the Super Bowl. Not every player gets that chance, but Bruiser did. He was determined to make the most of it. Bruiser didn’t just want to win. He wanted to be the Super Bowl superstar by scoring the winning touchdown.
The game was close because the teams were evenly matched. Every time Bruiser’s team got the ball, he threw it with laser accuracy, and it usually paid off with a score. The coach’s game plan was for Bruiser to throw, throw, throw-and it worked. Unfortunately, the other team had racked up just as many points.
So the game came down to the last few seconds. Bruiser dropped back to pass, and the final gun sounded. If he didn’t throw for a touchdown now, the game was lost. With the goal line only a few yards away and his receiver in the clear in the end zone, all Bruiser had to do was to throw the ball to him. It was the game plan.
Bruiser, though, wanted to score the winning touchdown. So instead of passing the ball to the receiver, he ran for the end zone. He could hear his coach yelling, “Throw the ball, Bruiser! Throw the ball!” But Bruiser wouldn’t listen. He darted, he dodged, and he dove for the line . . . and came up one foot short.
Bruiser never became that Super Bowl hero. Instead of experiencing the thrill of victory, he dragged his team to defeat. If he had only stuck with the game plan.
You get the chance to make game-winning choices every day. When you make the right choices, you experience the happiness of success. When you make the wrong choice, well, we all know what it’s like to live with the consequences of bad choices. Good outcomes result from good decisions, and good decisions result when you follow God’s game plan: his Word.
Psalm 119:2 promises happiness to all who obey God’s decrees. That’s right—God really wants us to be happy. He gave us his Word so we can know how to obey him and experience the same happiness as the football player who gets to the end zone.
TALK: How have good decisions led to good outcomes in your life?
PRAY: God, thank you for the good things you have made happen in our life.
ACT: Remind a friend today why rules are a good idea.