What is a good and Godly Day?
When you know the answer, run the play.
During the 1990s, while driving around the Carolinas for work, I often listened to the radio program “Back to the Bible” hosted by Woodrow Kroll. (During the ‘smoke signal’ era, long before the internet and podcasts.) He concluded each broadcast with the phrase, “Have a good and godly day. For what lasting value is a good day if it is not also a godly day?”
That question continues to resonate. I prayerfully ask this question each morning as part of my “quiet” time and again at night when the Lord and I review the day. The answers are the building blocks for my “scorecard.” A scorecard is a personal, intentional, and well-conceived answer to that question. I’ve been asking a variation of this question to the men and women I have been invited to meet with individually and corporately.
Did you know the Lord has prepared “divine appointments” for us daily? Some we know; most we don’t. Every text, email, phone call, and in-person meeting is a divine appointment. (Including the waiter at lunch or the person working at the cash register.) In his famous sermon in 1941, C.S. Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
Without an intentional, well-conceived process for daily living or “scorecard,” the world/culture will give you one. That scorecard will treat everyone as ordinary and be something to be used for our selfish purposes. Ken Boa likes to remind us, “The world will define you by default, but the Word can only define you through discipline.”
My morning times with the Lord are my favorite. (Not the 4 a.m. ones, the 6:30 a.m. ones. The 4 a.m. ones are His favorite.) When we are finished, it feels like it did when I played football with my brothers and other friends. We would call the play in the huddle, run up to the line of scrimmage, and … Run The Play!
The plays didn’t always happen as planned; sometimes, we improvised. In this season of life, I imagine RTP includes Jesus, me, and you – my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. The plays we’re running come from the Bible (Coaches Playbook). They are unique and pregnant with eternal purpose and meaning. It’s the key to finishing well.
Run the play: How can anything but a good and godly life be fashioned by a lifetime of good and godly days?
Finding Our Place in the Story
Where in my daily routine might I be overlooking a divine appointment?
(Think about text messages, work meetings, errands—what if these are sacred moments in disguise?)
Whose life could be impacted today if I showed up as though I truly believed they were an eternal being?
(Consider family, clients, coworkers, or even a stranger.)
What “play” has God called me to run today—and am I listening well enough to hear it?