Overcoming the Odds

by Matt Adams

Soon our son, Emerson, will be born into this world. Naturally, how we are to raise him is in our thoughts daily; as his father, being charged to raise him "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord", so many lessons I intend to teach him flood to my mind. One such lesson is how to deal with discouragements; how to counter the thoughts (within oneself, or implied/spoken by others) offered up to tell you that you cannot do something which God instructs you are to do. How he is to conduct himself when the odds seem to be against him or when the road looks dreary and the way tough. How to gather the strength, daily, to walk the difficult way (Matt.7:13-14).

As Christians we might be viewed by the world as the ultimate underdogs. It would seem that way to most, considering the choices we make and the stands we take. But isn't that one of the beauties of being a Christian? With God we can overcome such seemingly insurmountable odds!

We love underdogs, don't we?

Love the fight, the challenge, the prospect that one - whom others decide doesn't have a chance - may beat the giant, beat the champion, prove everybody wrong. We see this play itself out in sporting competitions all the time in our day. The prospect of winning the battle drives the one who seems to be at a disadvantage to strive ever more. However, most of the time, we find that with this supposed underdog the greatest battle they face is not their opponent, but rather themselves, their greatest challenge is from within.

Reading through Scripture we see the accounts of so many whom the world cast off, family rejected, their own kin and allies discouraged, those who were destined to lose according to the actions and words of those around them. Let's look at some barriers offered up by those who try to discourage, they who seek to tear down rather than lift up, those whose faith is not in God but in self:

You're too young (Timothy - 2Tim.4:12)

You're too old (Caleb - Josh.14:6-12)

You're too small (David - 1Sam.17)

They're too big (Joshua & Caleb -Deut.17)

You're too weak (Paul - 2Cor.10:10)

There's not enough of you (to Gideon - Jgs.7)

Your God won't deliver, we're too strong (to Hezekiah – 2 Kgs.18-19)

You can't and you won't! (Peter & other Apostles - Acts 4 , 5)

Do we see how defeat can come if we listen to the world, rather than placing our faith in God and thrusting ourselves out into the action?

Isn't it high-time that we fight back? Aren't we tired of hearing the world tell us we can't serve God, we can't go to heaven, we can't be faithful to God? What happens to us is, before long, we begin believing the defeating words, we begin saying those very things to ourselves, we believe the press of the world, our greatest enemy is soon inside our own minds. We begin telling ourselves, "No. You're nothing, you're not strong enough, you're too young/old, you're too small, Satan is too big and his army too mighty, you're just one person, you can't do it!"

Friends, I'm tired of the defeating words of others, the self-defeating words of my mind, the justification for being mediocre so often propagated in this world; God expects more from His children, and so should we. I intend for my son to learn that God gives us the strength to do incredible things, overcome unbelievable odds, and defeat this dreadful foe of Satan and his agents.

Time to rise up and take the battle to the faceless enemy that is discouragement and lies. When God tells me to do something, I had better believe I have the strength within myself to carry it out; let's take a lesson from the examples listed above (2 Pt 1:3; Heb.11). God gives us that strength, He empowers us, He builds us up and makes us great. Believe His words, friends. Believe that the One who created us and gave us this soul within is able to deliver us from evil, able to conquer our foes, and will give us the ability to overcome whatever the world throws our way (1 Cor.10:12-13; Rom.8:28-39).

The way we prove the world wrong is by living the life God gave us to live. We were built -by the hand of God- to endure whatever this world throws at us. We were made in His image! When we consider this fact, what edge does this world truly have over us? The world calls us underdogs, but we truly know that we are "more than conquerors" through Jesus Christ - the world is only lacking the realization of that fact; so we must choose to live this fact daily (Rom.8:31-37)!

It is my desire to teach my son to silence the world by choosing to live a holy and righteous life (Deut.6:1-9). Will that stop the attacks from the world, will that keep them from trying to bring him down, will that make the devil stop pursuing him? No, if anything it will probably make the road harder and make those of the world double their efforts. However, the reward for a life of honor and a life well-lived before God is worth far more than whatever futility the world offers; it's worth whatever hardships the world brings down upon us.

I desire for my son to be surrounded by champions; to look up and learn from those who fight daily as soldiers in God's army; to pattern himself after our fellow-Christians who are daily living like Jesus Christ; those who walk according to the Spirit and not flesh; those who know both victory and failure, those who truly have learned what it means to overcome.

And so, as a Christian and Emerson's father, my plea to each of you is this:

Friends, will you help me to be able to point my son - this new life and soul - to you as yet another example of what a Christian truly is? To point to you so he can witness all that it means to enact God's commands and overcome the adversity that is sin? Erin and I plan to do our part as his primary examples in the home; however, we plead with our brethren to be faithful examples as well.

To the world's underdogs: stand up and fight! Gather your strength, gather your courage, stand unwaveringly against the forces of this world (Eph.6:10-17)! Let that warrior inside step up and fight the war raging in your life! Be a man of action, be one of confidence, be one of trust in God Almighty! Take lessons from God's word, our spiritual ancestors, and overcome. Never let that spirit, that desire to rise up and overcome, that resolve to fight for truth until your dying breath...never let it die; for when it dies, your soul dies.

God says we can overcome, may we believe Him instead of the world (Phil.4:13).

 

 

  Other Articles by Matt Adams
If Today Was the Last Day
Without Hope
When Our Loved Ones Lose Their Moral Compass