The Scoreboard
Things are going well right now.
Enjoy that. It’s earned and it’s real. But I want to have a conversation today that might be slightly uncomfortable — not because things are bad, but precisely because they’re good.
The most dangerous moment for any team is not when they’re struggling. It’s when they’re succeeding.
Read this passage slowly.
Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down... then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 8:11–14 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Moses is speaking to Israel right before they enter the Promised Land. They’ve been in the wilderness for forty years — hard years, lean years, dependent-on-God years. And Moses’ warning at the threshold of abundance is: don’t forget what got you here.
When you eat and are satisfied. When things go well. When the wins come consistently and the effort starts to feel like it’s paying off. That’s when the forgetting happens.
In sports terms: the thing that got you to a winning streak is the work you were doing before the streak started. The habits, the attention to detail, the hunger, the standard you held when it wasn’t paying off yet. The streak is the result. The work is the cause.
When a team starts believing the streak is the cause and the work is optional — that’s when the streak ends. Not because they’re unlucky. Because they stopped doing the thing that made them good.
Don’t forget what got you here. The wins are confirmation that the standard is working. Hold the standard. The wins follow.
Don’t forget what got you here. The wins are confirmation the standard is working.
What’s one specific thing you’ve been doing since the start of this streak that you absolutely cannot let slip over the next two weeks?
Concrete and specific answers only. This is a commitment question disguised as a reflection question.
Hold the standard. The wins follow.
This devotional is a warning, but it shouldn’t feel like a punishment for winning. Deliver it warmly. The wins are good. The point is to protect them.
Scripture, teach from “In sports terms” to the end, send-off.