Weekly Content for P.A.C.K. Meetings

UNPACKIN’ IT DEVOTIONAL CONTENT:

What About Your Defense?

With the completion of the 2024 NFL Draft, we’ll soon be watching which of these new players become the league’s next stars.

The big overall takeaway from this year’s draft is how offensive players dominated many of the teams’ selections…and how that side of the ball was their main focus.

We know the league continues to place a huge emphasis on offense, and so does college football. There’s tremendous excitement when teams move the ball and score touchdowns, and we understand the importance of the quarterback position.

So, it’s not surprising how this year’s draft was all about offense, but here is a breakdown:

• Six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 picks.

• 55 offensive lineman heard their name called throughout the seven rounds.

• 14 offensive players were selected in a row to start the first round before the first defensive player was taken. (This broke the previous record of seven.)

• Out of the 32 picks in the first round, 23 were offensive players, beating the record of 19.

• The Patriots used seven of their eight picks on offense.

• The Jets chose offense for their first five picks.

• The Panthers added a wide receiver, running back, and tight end in the first four rounds.

Across the league, teams left the draft feeling encouraged about their new offensive weapons and additions to their offensive line. While it makes sense that teams spent so much draft capital on improving their offensives, it still begs the question, what about the defense?

Are teams not valuing the need to stop the ball as much as they used to?

Are they overlooking how important it is for the defense to get stops?

Why aren’t they investing more in their defense?

Are they not as concerned about fortifying that side of the ball?

Of course, teams would say they care about their defense, but the reality is that many teams still need to fill holes.

As followers of Jesus, similar questions are worth considering beginning with, what about our defense? We have to strengthen our defense to defend against temptation and “get stops” when dealing with sin.

Unfortunately, our main focus may be somewhere else and we might overlook how depleted our defense is and give little concern to improving it.

If we want to live holy lives, the holes in our defense ought to be filled. We must invest in defending against things that threaten our faith such as complacency, drifting, or even exhaustion.

We can help our defense’s ability to “get stops” when we live a life of worship, setting boundaries, and embracing accountability.

We also develop a stout defense against spiritual attacks by investing time in fellowship with God and other believers.

We build a strong defensive front by knowing and memorizing scripture and prioritizing the importance of gaining wisdom.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, we also train our brains to think rightly and have the proper perspectives and mindsets to stop the behavior that dishonors God.

Ultimately, every day we must surrender to Jesus and put on the full armor of God, which is the key to a fortified defense.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (AMP) explains, “In conclusion, be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil.”

Today, let’s not forget about our defense like many NFL teams seemed to do during the draft. Let’s instead emphasize “getting stops” and defend against anything attempting to attack our faith in Jesus.

I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that!

*Read the rest of Ephesians 6 below for more details about the armor of God.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS TO CONSIDER OR EMPHASIZE OR OTHER DIRECTIONS TO GO:

• Don’t worry as much about what the “offense” may represent or not represent in this parallel. Just focus on what it means to have a spiritual defense. That’s the point of this topic!