The example we know best shows how God loves and uses the underdog
By Dean Collins
Most of us like cheering for the underdog. Every year during March madness, hundreds of thousands of sports fans rally around some underdog team, hoping they make it to the championship game and win. Maybe we cheer for the underdog just because we despise the favorites and the usual winners, but I suspect we cheer for the underdog because of the many times we have seen ourselves as the underdog in some arena of life.
I remember a conversation I had with a reporter from New York who was in town covering a company that had gone public just a few months before. He was talking to me about the founder and said, ” I just can’t get enough of this guy.” He mentioned how the company was started in the basement of the CEO’s grandmother. He then said something about how the CEO wasn’t flashy, and his shoes were not shined. He basically was taken by the underdog story of a successful business startup that didn’t fit the mold.
The most famous and familiar underdog in the Bible
When it comes to Scripture, it is not hard to find the underdog stories. The Bible is filled with them, but maybe the most famous and familiar is the battle between David and Goliath. But before you think again about this classic, remember the story and the book that precedes Samuel’s description of this epic battle.
Recently, I wrote about the redemptive story of Ruth and Naomi. What you may not remember is that the last word in the book of Ruth is David. What once seemed hopeless to Naomi turned into a glorious resolution. Naomi found her kinsman redeemer, and when she did, we once again see the kindness and faithfulness of God at work, not just for Naomi and Ruth, but for all of us. The marriage of Ruth and Boaz brought forth a son, Obed, the father of Jesse whose last son was named David.
All through Scripture we see how God uses what to us appear to be the unlikely, the desperate, or even the underdogs to accomplish his purposes, both in the moment, but also for eternity. The boy of Bethlehem whose faith and confidence in God was forged doing the lowly work of a shepherd steps confidently into the valley to face the giant Goliath.
How did this adolescent have the courage to face his giant when everyone around him had pulled back in fear? He remembered the many times God had delivered him from dangerous situations before. David had trusted God and taken action when he faced both a lion and a bear. David’s faith formed under starry skies as he considered God’s glory and the hundreds of times he used a sling to protect the sheep equipped him in this moment to face the giant.
God can equip the unlikely or the underdog—even you!
God used this underdog named David to serve as king of Israel. From his lineage generations later in a manger in Bethlehem, a baby was born to a humble young girl named Mary. Her baby was Jesus who came as our Savior and is forever our King.
The story of David’s victory over Goliath gives a burst of confidence that God can equip the unlikely or the underdog to do what appears impossible. But when we step back and consider the bigger picture, we see that Scripture is filled with story after story to show us that doing the impossible is God’s specialty! In fact, Jesus said exactly that to his disciples during his three years of ministry before his death and resurrection.
I wonder what story God is writing through your and my impossible moments. What will God do today or in the next week or month when we feel like the underdog yet come to him in faith and ask him to do what seems unlikely but is desperately needed? Maybe Paul expressed it best when he prayed for the church in Ephesus. I am confident that prayer is for you and me today as well:
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-12).
Whatever you face today, you can be sure God is there with you and he loves to write stories through our lives that not only bring us joy but that he also uses to help others trust him in their moments of uncertainty and need.
Your time with God’s Word
1 Samuel 17:24-50 ESV
Illustration by estt at istockphoto.com
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