The Kansas City Chiefs return to the field on Sunday against the Raiders following their bye week. Their last game was epic against the Rams when they lost 54-51. Both teams were incredible and Kansas City quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, threw six touchdowns and close to 500 yards.

Being such a close game, it came down to turnovers. Mahomes accounted for five of them with three interceptions and two lost fumbles. As a young player he’s expected to make some mistakes, but Head Coach, Andy Reid, trusts he’ll learn from them and be better the next time.

Reid recently explained: “You don’t hide it. You go back and evaluate it. How did those things happen and then how do you fix them so they don’t happen again? So we’ve done that. One thing about Pat is that he doesn’t make the same mistake twice. That’s not been his M.O. here. I’m not worried about that. I want him to keep firing. Learn from your mistakes, but keep firing.”

I absolutely love this perspective and appreciate quarterbacks who don’t cost their teams by doing the same things over and over again. I also appreciate how Reid said “you don’t hide it” and “keep firing” because that mentality allows for change and improvement.

This translates easily into our own lives because we all experience interceptions, fumbles, and turnovers – even when we’re also throwing touchdowns. We make mistakes, slip up, misread a situation, and often fail. Even though our intention isn’t to turn the ball over, sometimes it happens.

As followers of Jesus, it’s important that we confess our shortcomings, learn from our mistakes, and repent. We don’t want to continue in a pattern of sin, but rather recognize the issue. When we “don’t hide it” but instead use it to grow, we can “keep firing” toward a life of obedience.

Our response in these situations can be similar to that of David in Psalm 32:5 (NLT): “Finally, I confessed all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.’ And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

Today, as we live in grace and forgiveness because of Jesus, let’s ask God to show us what we can learn from our mistakes and how we can keep firing as we improve and repent. By fully depending on God, He can give us the strength to avoid repeatedly making the same mistakes.

I’m Bryce Johnson and you can unpack that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I know I can’t hide my sin from you, but I confess my shortcomings. I pray You’d give me the strength and guidance to learn from my mistakes, and live a life of repentance. Thank you for Your grace. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.