What Is Your Playbook for Life?
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
—Joshua 1:8
During two-a-day football camp in high school, coaches handed out playbooks and told each player to study it and know it inside out. You can tell when something is important by how someone speaks about it and the tone they use.
I figured out quickly that if I didn’t study that playbook, there would be repercussions. If I didn’t learn that playbook, I would ruin my chances of playing. And it makes sense.
How can a coach or teammate trust a player who is unwilling to put in the effort to learn the team’s philosophies and plans? It shows laziness if we are not willing to take the time to prioritize the playbook.
The Bible is similar to a playbook, yet on a grander scale. But it’s not just a book of knowledge and rules. It’s a living book that instructs us on how to conduct ourselves in challenging situations, live like Christ, and understand how historical events are relevant to us today. The words of Joshua 1:8 hold much weight—memorizing and meditating on God’s Word will make us prosperous and successful.
Did you know that you should chew your food between thirty-two and forty times per bite to break it down properly? The goal is for your body to eventually extract the nutrients from what you are eating after it goes down your esophagus and into your stomach.
This process of digestion is similar to how we are to study our Bible. We aren’t supposed to skim over Scripture. We are to take our time with it, dissecting it and considering it. We are to meditate on it and think about it repeatedly, as if we were chewing on a piece of steak that may take forty bites to break down.
Study the Bible like you would study the most important playbook ever. When you discover and learn the Bible on a deeper level, you can apply it to the fabric of your life and your soul, allowing it to transform you from the inside out to be more like Christ.
Take your time when you read the Bible. Remember, it’s not just a book you read but a supernatural guide to navigating life and being a better athlete, a better teammate, and, most importantly, a better person.
Adapted from Lead with Faith, Play with Purpose: A 100-Day Devotional for Athletes by Andy Dooley.
Lead with Faith, Play with Purpose: A 100-Day Devotional for Athletes
As an athlete, you train your body and mind to be ready for competition. But what about your soul? Lead with Faith, Play with Purpose is your guide to exercising your faith.
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This is a very engaging piece of writing. A good thing to read to start your day. It helps remind us to be disciplined Christians as we prioritize the need to be disciplined athletes.
Thank you for helping me better understand the Bible.
I really thank God for giving me the inspiration of his word and the will of God.
The Bible gives me courage, to live the eternal life.
Thank you for helping me better understand the bible.
The word of God is good in our life. We need to study the Bible day and night. I thank God for the messages of encouragement.
Great teachings
This was a very good analogy. It makes sense most importantly for spiritual life and my work life. I hope and aspire that I will be blessed to spend more time with my grandsons and mentor them. I hope 1st and foremost that Jesus will be the man they look up to and I hope I can make an impact in their lives.
Yes, I’m ready.
The Bible is part of my daily life. By reading it daily, l feel refreshed.