Cheesehead Devotional Kickoff Edition

Sample Devotion

1 Chronicles 16:7-36 – Memories FROM THE PLAYBOOK: Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth. 1 Chronicles 16:12

1962. The last time the Green Bay Packers started a season 10-0. That winning streak ended on Thanksgiving Day against the Detroit Lions. At halftime, the Lions were ahead 23-0 and won the game 26-14. Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi were no longer undefeated.

That day was a terrific day for the Lions, who had been in second place behind the Packers. It was like the Lion’s Super Bowl. Jerry Kramer, Packers’ starting right guard in 1962, said, “They ought to give them a ring or something for it, have a holiday or something because it’s a highlight in their history.” Bart Starr, famed quarterback for the Packers, got sacked eleven times. The Packers earned only 122 yards of offense. Lions’ Linebacker Joe Schmidt said his team, at that time, was out to prove to the world they were as good as or better than Green Bay. The Lions finished the season 11-3, while the Packers were 14-1.

The comparisons to that 1962 season were everywhere preceding the 2011 Thanksgiving Day game. The Lions hoped to repeat history.

However, the Packers shut down Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, the man who turned many Lions games into victories with his superior play. Even missing three injured starters, the Packer defense showed one of their best games. Ryan Pickett tipped a pass from Lions Quarterback Matt Stafford. Linebacker Clay Matthews made a great grab for an interception. The Packers won 27-15, almost an exact flip-flop of the 1962 score.

Historical reruns can make for a great conversation and story. However, in our minds and spirits, they can sometimes be more detrimental than good. It is so easy to fall into the mindset that because a situation went a certain way once, it more than likely will go that way again. It can be a defeatist mentality if the event was negative and can be an unsupported hope if one simply assumes history will repeat itself in the positive events.

The Bible warns us against this type of thinking when it tells us to forget what lies behind and press on to what is ahead. We are told to remember the good things God has done and put our faith in Him, not in repeating history by fate. Faith and fate are not the same. Faith has eyes that look ahead, hearts that believe God’s promises, minds that make right choices, feet that diligently move forward in obedience,