Bet Big, Test Small – How to Play Fearless in the Biggest Moments

Guys, we’re in the semifinals. This is the stage we have been reminded about since our loss to the same team in the same week last season. But here’s the truth: the bigger the moment, the more temptation there is to play scared. To hesitate. To second-guess. I want to give you a principle that will set you free to play the way you’re capable of playing: Bet big, but test small.Text later

Bet big on the game plan.

We’re not hoping to “just compete.” We’re betting big that the game plan Coaches have poured into for months will work against this team. We’re betting big that the brotherhood we’ve built will hold when the score gets tight. We’re betting big that the God who gave us these bodies and this opportunity will be glorified win or lose. But test small all week.  

• Test the new defense formations in walk-throughs.

• Test your assignment on every rep in practice.

• Test your body – get the extra ice, the extra protein, the extra sleep.

• Test your heart – spend five minutes alone with God every day this week asking Him to search you for fear or pride.

David, Peter and Christ

Scripture shows us this pattern over and over. Look at David facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17). David bet big – he told the king, “I’m going to take this giant’s head off.” That’s a massive bet but watch how he tested small first. Before he stepped onto the battlefield, he told Saul, “I’ve already killed a lion and a bear while protecting my father’s sheep. He had reps. He had tested small.

Think about Peter walking on water (Matthew 14:28-31). Peter bet big – “Lord, if it’s You, tell me to come to You on the water.” That’s insane faith. But notice he tested small first. He didn’t just leap out of the boat yelling, “Here I come, Jesus!” He asked for a command. “Tell me to come.” He tested the word of Jesus in a single step before he committed his whole body to the waves. One step of obedience, then another, then another.

Even Jesus modeled this. In the wilderness (Luke 4), Satan tempted Him to turn stones to bread – a shortcut that looked like a small test. Jesus refused because He had already tested small in 40 days of fasting and Scripture memory. He had data on God’s faithfulness. So when the big moment came in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He would literally bet the salvation of the world, He could pray, “Not My will, but Yours be done.” He had tested small for 33 years of perfect obedience before He made the ultimate bet on the cross.

Fighting the fight of faith

The team that wins on Friday won’t be the one with the most talent. It will be the one that has tested small so many times this season that they can bet big without blinking when the lights are brightest. David didn’t flinch because he had killed the lion and the bear. Peter took that first step because Jesus said “Come.” Jesus endured the cross because He had already passed every smaller test.

You’ve been testing small all season. Every sprint, every film session, every time you chose team over self. Now it’s time to cash in. So let’s go make a Goliath-level bet on Friday. We’ve already passed the lion-and-bear tests.“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7