John Wooden said, “The importance of repetition until automatic cannot be overstated. Repetition is the key to learning. The four laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, and repetition.” The legendary basketball coach taught this principle his entire career: “The goal is to create a correct habit that can be produced instinctively under great pressure. To make sure this goal was achieved, I created eight laws of learning — namely explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, and repetition.”

Deuteronomy 8-9 – Faithful Habits

Moses continues his talk to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 8-9, repeatedly warning them of the temptation to forget about God and their need for Him while enjoying the prosperity of their new land. He knew that when things go well in life, it becomes easy to forget our total dependence on God. Remembering God’s acts of deliverance helped keep Him on their minds.

Following a basketball game, I often reminded my players that they were constantly being tested. It was either a test of adversity or prosperity that revealed their heart. We often forget that prosperity is a test, too. In fact, many heroes of faith often failed the test of prosperity before the test of adversity. How often do you see a team blow out an opponent only to play poorly a few days later? It’s common for a prosperous team to lose sight of the practice habits and attitude that helped create their success. Moses used the golden calf to remind his people they needed total dependence on God.

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete regularly remind themselves to depend on God, regardless of their circumstances.

Bible Verse: “The secret things belong to Yahweh our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”  Deuteronomy 29:29 (LSB)