Learn the Rules First
A devotional from Undeserved Favor Ministry inspired by the preaching "How to Win in Life"
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16–17
Before any serious player steps onto the court, they do something most people overlook. They study. They learn the rules. They watch how the game is played by those who have mastered it. They develop a strategy not just for how to score but for how to avoid losing. Because here is the truth every seasoned player knows — you cannot win a game you do not understand.
The same is true for the biggest game of all. Life.
And brothers and sisters, God has not left you to figure out the rules on your own. He has given you something better than a playbook — He has given you His word. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 makes this plain. All scripture is inspired by God. Not some of it. Not the parts that are easy to read or comfortable to sit with. All of it. Breathed out by God Himself and placed in your hands so that you would know exactly what is true, what is wrong, what needs correcting, and what the right move looks like in every situation life throws at you.
Think about what that means for you today, my friend. Every wrong result in your life — every area where things are not working the way you hoped, every pattern that keeps repeating no matter how hard you try to break it — is an invitation to go back to the word. Not to be condemned by it. But to be corrected and equipped by it. Because the Bible does not just tell you what is wrong. It tells you what to do next. It prepares you. It equips you. And a prepared, equipped player is a dangerous one.
But there is something even more important than knowing the scripture, and that is knowing the One the scripture points to. Jesus said it Himself in John 14:6 — I am the way, the truth, and the life. You want to know how to win? Jesus is the way. You want to know what is actually true about your situation, your identity, your future? Jesus is the truth. You want to win and actually enjoy the winning? Jesus is the life.
Planning to win in life begins here — with a decision to know God’s word and to know Jesus in a deeply personal way. Not as a historical figure. Not as a distant deity. But as the Lord and Savior who came down from heaven specifically for you, who suffered and died to pay for every wrong move you have ever made, and who rose again so that victory — real, lasting, abundant victory — could be yours as a gift.
That is the plan, my friend. And it starts today.
Open the word. Get to know Jesus. The game of life has already been won — and He won it for you.