Who doesn’t like a story about an underdog who comes out on top? How about these: The Tortoise and the Hare, The Little Engine that Could, Rocky, The Karate Kid, Forrest Gump, Rudy, Brave Heart. Watch this short video about an underdog named Jason McElwain, an autistic basketball player.
Isn’t Jason’s and amazing story? You and I aren’t the only one who love it when the underdog succeeds. Consider Bible characters like Gidion and David (You will recall David had an encounter with a giant named Goliath). God helped both of those men succeed against all odds. You see, God is on the side of the underdog, the downtrodden, and the disadvantaged. You can’t really read the Bible, especially the Psalms, without coming to that conclusion. In fact, I have gone through the Psalms and titled them with a name for God based on what each Psalm is about. The name I gave Gpd from Psalm 146 is, "God, the God of the Underdog". Here is what verses 5 to 9 say:
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the Lord, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
I don’t know about you, but if God is on the side of the underdog, that is the side I want to be on too. If that is the side you want to be on, consider who in your school, youth group, at work, or in your neighborhood are the oppressed, hungry, imprisoned (literally or figuratively), blind, or have some other infirmity? What are some ways you can uphold their causes? God wants us to be His hands and feet in the world around us. Let’s open our eyes to the needs that are there and with God’s help, do what we can to meet those needs.
