Lessons from Netflix

Focusing on the Journey

Welcome to Lessons from Netflix; this is a new weekly devotional that combines scripture with movies and tv to show how God can speak to us in our lives. I am so excited to see how God uses this devotional to help not only you grow in your life but to see him show us new truths each week. Our first devotional takes us to Brooklyn....it's time for the 99!

Brooklyn 99 is one of my favorite shows of all time (let's face it I am a sucker for anything Michael Schur produces) but sadly the show came to an end in 2021. The final season of Brooklyn 99 was full of emotion and plenty of lessons but at the heart of this show is friendship. At any point in Brooklyn 99's run, you can watch any episode and you will see friends going above and beyond for each other to the point where they become each other's family. I think the thing that makes these friendships feel authentic is the fact that each character learns different lessons from other characters in the show...enter Jake Peralta and Doug Judy (aka the Pontiac Bandit).

Jake and Doug is a perfect example of how even the hardest of friendships can find happiness. Jake is the lead detective of the 99th precinct in Brooklyn; Doug on the other hand is a car thief nicknamed "The Pontiac Bandit". Throughout the show, Jake is often betrayed by Doug but through each betrayal, Jake continues to have faith that eventually Doug will change his ways. In Doug's final appearance Jake tells Doug he shouldn't rush through everything and that he should focus on the journey and not the destination.

I believe we live in an age where everyone is in a rush; we forget to take a moment and just breathe. I think back in Brooklyn 99 to the person Jake Peralta was at the beginning of the show vs the person he became by the end of the show.

"It's funny on my first day here I asked Jeffords to tell me about everyone; he told me you were a great detective but the one thing you couldn't figure out was how to grow up. Well I think you finally figured it out"-Captain Holt

Jake at the start of Brooklyn 99 is arrogant, immature, selfish, and couldn't see the big picture for his life; fast forward to the end of the show and Jake becomes a person who is focused on his family, he loves his coworkers to the point where they have become family, and Jake finally takes the time to appreciate the things he has been blessed with in his life.

The lesson we can learn from this particular episode is to slow down and enjoy the journey. If we live our lives in a rush we can't appreciate the journey. Life is all about learning from our experiences and failures to make us into the people we know we need to be.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. James 1:2

The book of James talks about how we should consider it "joy" when we face trials in our life; this joy is a reminder that every hard moment in our life is a chance to grow as a human being. It might sound cliche but "everything happens for a reason" is 100% true. If you truly believe that God knows everything and has control of your life then you believe God is guiding you through your life and troubles that rise up are moments where God is trying to teach you something in your life.

knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:3-4

The testing in life that we go through is for a reason; it exists to produce patience and if we are to be complete and mature then we must develop patience. Patience is key to being a disciple of Christ and it ultimately will help make us better ambassadors for God's work in our lives.

Homework: Take a few minutes this week and think back on the hard moments you have gone through in life and write them down. In another part of the page, I want you to reflect on the lessons you learned in each of those hard moments and write them down as well. This week in your prayer time, thank God for all the lessons he has taught you.

Thank you for reading this entry of Lessons from Netflix! Next week we will talk about a lesson I learned from the hit show Scrubs.