Stick with the Game Plan – Today’s Youth Devotion

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. Hands down, no doubt, 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 football icon. At least he used to be … before the big game.

All his life Bruiser had waited to play in the Super Bowl. Every football player’s dream is to take home a championship, to wear the winner’s ring. 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 both teams were evenly matched. Every time Bruiser’s team got the ball, he threw it with laser like 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 lob the ball to him. It was the game plan.

Bruiser, though, wanted to score the winning touchdown himself. 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!” But Bruiser wouldn’t listen. He darted, he dodged de­fenders, and he dove for the line … but he came up one foot short.

Bruiser never became that Super Bowl hero. Instead of experiencing the thrill of victory, he dragged his team into the agony of defeat. His face lost the chance to be on a Wheaties box, and his family wasn’t exactly going to Disney World. 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 choice, you experience the happiness of success. If you make the wrong choice … well, at least once or twice you have no doubt had 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 you to be happy. He gave you his Word so you can get into the end zone.

REFLECT: How have good decisions led to good outcomes in your life?

PRAY: Talk to God about your commitment to study and follow his game plan.