Like most of you, I grew up playing sandlot football on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. In my neighborhood games, we would regularly change the quarterback. This made for some interesting play calling, but very little success. Quite often the quarterback would say, “everyone go deep,” or “let’s just throw short passes and get first downs.” As we matured and began playing organized football, we understood the importance of a playbook.

God went to great depths to see that Moses and the Israelites were given a “playbook.” He instructed Moses to make sure God’s “plays” were learned and executed completely. How many times do we see a broken assignment in the backfield where the quarterback and running back are not on the same page. Someone did not learn that play correctly. Other times we see a wide-out, on third and eight, run a five-yard play. He didn’t follow the playbook.

God wants us to learn and follow His Word. To many times in my life I’ve called my own plays and always found myself in third-and-long situations throwing up a prayer. How about you?