Early last season, the Seattle Seahawks appeared to be one of the best teams in the NFL until things started to unravel down the stretch.

Their solution to the offensive woes was making a change at offensive coordinator after the season and replacing Brian Schottenheimer with Shane Waldron (previously with the LA Rams).

ESPN.com’s Brady Henderson wrote an article about the coaching change with the headline, “Seattle Seahawks’ Shane Waldron Says There’s ‘Philosophical Alignment’ With Pete Carroll.”

Henderson explains how during his introductory press conference, “Waldron sounded a lot like the head coach who just hired him.”

Waldron talked about his offensive approach of winning the turnover battle, offensive balance, and playing complementary football, which line up with who Pete Carroll is and what he’s all about.

Waldron shared, “That was really, in my opinion, what was so natural about the interview process, was that there was so much philosophical alignment between he and I. It was a conversation, and it was a football discussion that had so many things in alignment that it felt just like a natural progression as we got to know each other and talk through things. So, so many of those things were just naturally in alignment, and that’s where I think I felt really good about the process.”

As we see an emphasis placed on being in “alignment” with Seattle’s head coach and offensive coordinator, let’s unpack how this parallels us being in “alignment” with God.

Do our perspectives, philosophies, strategies, approaches, and attitudes line up with God’s Word and what He’s all about? Do we place value on the same things God does?

Colossians 3:1-2 (NLT) explains, “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.”

1 John 2:6 (NLT) says, “Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”

Do we sound a lot like “the Head Coach” in the way we speak and what we talk about? Do we spend time with God to make sure our hearts are in alignment with Him? Ultimately, do we desire to do God’s will and align ourselves with the direction He wants us to go and the path He wants us to take?

Ephesians 5:15-17 (AMP) tells us, “Therefore see that you walk carefully [living life with honor, purpose, and courage; shunning those who tolerate and enable evil], not as the unwise, but as wise [sensible, intelligent, discerning people], making the very most of your time [on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil. Therefore do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.”

1 Thessalonians 4:1 (AMP) gives us this challenge: “Finally, believers, we ask and admonish you in the Lord Jesus, that you follow the instruction that you received from us about how you ought to walk and please God (just as you are actually doing) and that you excel even more and more [pursuing a life of purpose and living in a way that expresses gratitude to God for your salvation].”

If we lose this focus, then our alignment will be off and our philosophies, desires, attitudes, and perspectives shift toward selfishness and the world, and we’ll give in to our bent toward sin.

When we sense we’re not aligning our lives with God and His ways, we must repent and return to Him. Just like a car needs to fix its alignment when it gets off track and we go to a chiropractor to get our body re-aligned from improper movements, spiritually we need to be adjusted and properly aligned with our loving God.

Today, let’s do an alignment check and be willing to surrender all areas of our lives to Jesus, so we can experience the fruit of being aligned with Him.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I confess I’ve lost focus and allowed the things of this world to pull me in different directions. I pray that You would adjust my thinking and help me be in proper alignment with You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.

Discussion Questions for PACKS:

  1. How do you describe the difference between being in and out of alignment with God based on your own experience?

  2. What is an area of your life that needs to be adjusted into a proper alignment with God?