The NFL Playoffs are coming quickly and the next few weeks will be highly intriguing with divisional matchups and almost every game affecting the playoff picture.
There are at least 11 teams in the AFC and NFC that are still technically alive with a chance to sneak into one of the six postseason slots.
At this point, we can confidently feel good about the Chiefs, Patriots, Saints, and Rams getting in, but who will have home-field advantage?
Will the Vikings be able to catch the Bears to win the NFC North division? Can the Eagles catch fire and pass the Cowboys in the NFC East?
ESPN.com has an article with the headline, “Sorting the Cluttered, Chaotic AFC Playoff Sprint with Five Weeks Left.” Writer, Bill Barnwell, explains each team’s situation and their chances for making it to the playoffs.
He considers the Dolphins, Bengals, and Broncos as extreme outsiders with the Ravens, Titans, and Colts fighting for the sixth and final spot.
There are so many potential scenarios and possible paths for teams to get in. As fans, when we start trying to process all of the information and predict the outcomes of games, the next five weeks will definitely prove to be “cluttered and chaotic.”
With the holiday season officially underway, we can probably also sense our lives becoming “cluttered and chaotic.” There’s a lot to process with everything going on around us – especially the countless scenarios to navigate as the year winds down with many potential outcomes.
Of course, as teams fight for the playoffs, they know they must take it one game at a time. Similarly, we know we have to take it one day at a time, but it’s still hard to fight against the “cluttered and chaotic” feelings we experience.
As followers of Jesus, we’re called out of that type of cluttered thinking and chaotic lifestyle into peace, wisdom, and self-control. When our mind starts to race and we’re overwhelmed by trying to figure out how things are going to play out or get done, we can rest in the words of Isaiah 26:3 (NLT):
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!”
Although the playoff picture is chaotic, we know the cliche that teams have to control what they can control. Likewise, even when some of the chaos is out of our control, there are still decisions we make each day that contribute to whether or not circumstances get worse.
We push back against chaos and clutteredness taking over by having self-control and wisdom. Proverbs 25:28 (NLT) says, “A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.”
James 1:5 (ESV) reminds us that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
Today, let’s exercise self-control to make wise decisions that give us peace, even when chaos and clutteredness are all around us. Let’s choose to focus on Jesus, so we have the proper perspective when we view our own “playoff picture.”
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I pray for peace in my chaos and for wisdom and clarity in my clutteredness. Please give me strength for self-control, and help me trust You with everything that is out of my control. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
