Never An Underdog

Never an Underdog
by Don Vess

Prov 23:7 NASB-- For as he (a man) thinks within himself (reckons within his soul), so he is.

I was at the gym working out on the elliptical: I happened to look up at one of the TV monitors they have at the Y. The coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, Andy Reid, was asked what how he felt having his team being considered the underdog in the upcoming Superbowl game. I loved his response. He said, “Others may consider us the underdog, but we still have the hearts of champions.”

I love that! It reminds me of several champions in the Bible who were considered underdogs.  I think of Joshua and Caleb after they had been sent into the Promised Land, along with ten others, to spy out the land and bring back some of the fruit along with a report.

The fruit they brought back was great, their report not so much so.                          

 Numbers 13:25-33 NLT- After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land.27 This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea[a] and along the Jordan Valley.”                              

 30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”  31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”    
                                                                                           
Joshua and Caleb didn’t see themselves as underdogs, they believed they could conquer the giants in the land and take it. And they were right!  Joshua was chosen by God to lead Israel into the promised land. He proved himself to be a competent and effective leader because he trusted in a God who is too big to fail.          

After all the other tribes of Israel had been given their portions of land to inhabit, Caleb approached Joshua and the other leaders of Israel and said, Josh 14:6-12 NLT A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, 8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. 9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

Winston Churchill said, “It matters not the size of the dog in the fight, but rather the size of the fight in the dog.”

Then there was the Shepherd Boy, David, who was totally outmatched by the huge, more experienced, battle-tested giant of a champion of the Philistines, Goliath. Goliath was HUGE (about 9ft. 6 Inches tall, probably tipping the scales at over 400 lbs., and armed to the teeth with a spear, sword, javelin and probably a dagger or two, with probably over 70 lbs. of armor. David was probably between 17 to 20 years old at the time of probably small to medium stature, but wiry and undoubtedly strong.

But he was still not match for the giant in the natural. But he wasn’t going to fight in the natural. Saul encouraged David to use his armor, but it just didn’t fit.  We cannot fight our battles in the “natural” either. 2 Cor 10:3-4NKJV- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…  David didn’t depend on natural weapons…  

1 Sam 17:45-47 NLT David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! 47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

David didn’t see himself as an underdog to the giant. He already saw himself as the victor! He said what he was going to do and the delivered! Verse 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head. It’s important to us that we speak words of faith over our own lives. The moment we admit defeat we have stepped into the devil’s trap.                                                                          

Prov. 18:21 KJV- Death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Matt 12:37 NLT “The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

We must see ourselves as being victors rather than victims! 1 Jn 5:4-5 NKJV-  For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? And, What is FAITH?

Heb. 11:1 NLT- Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.    

Hebrews 11 gives a long list of those who acted in faith and includes several notables in verses 32-34- How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets. 38 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned into strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.   What did all these have in common? Some may at one time have seen themselves as non-contenders such as Gideon, who saw himself as insignificant along with his family, and Barak, who depended on a woman to lead him into battle and forfeited the glory of the battle to her. But he did fight with the encouragement of the prophetess Deborah, and he did win a major victory.

Jesus, the all-time, undefeated, undeniable, champion of the world was not perceived by others to be anything, especially the Messiah! But he proved who he KNEW he was by being obedient to His Father and going all the way to Calvary to die for our sins, then to prove his victory over death, he rose again and took His place at the right hand of the throne of God.

Romans 8:31-39 Amp- …If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us? 32 He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself]. 34 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us. 35 Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written and forever remains written, “For Your sake we are put to death all day long; We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us]. 38 For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.    
                                                                                                             
We are NEVER underdogs! We are ALWAYS- MORE THAN CONQUERORS! I have many “favorite Scriptures.” But my most constant go-to is Phil 4:13 NKJV- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Declaration and Prayer: Phil 4:13- AMP-  I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]        
                                                                                                                       
Prayer- Lord, help me to see myself as You see me! Help me to depend on the strength that I have inside of me that you have given me as a weapon.