Underdog

Underdog

God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. – 1 Corinthians 1:27

Jeremiah 29:11-14

 11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen.

 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD.

American Underdog tells the true story of Kurt Warner, a poster child of an American underdog. The movie begins with a young Kurt Warner watching Joe Montana win Super Bowl XIX. Montana inspires Kurt to become a Super Bowl MVP quarterback.

His life is filled with a myriad of challenges and setbacks. He is not selected during the NFL draft. He finds himself unemployed and temporarily homeless. Undaunted, Kurt perseveres. He takes a job at a small grocery store, working nights stocking shelves. During this period, Kurt learned a valuable life lesson: true success is not measured on the football field but instead by how one responds when confronted with overwhelming disappointment. Kurt becomes a quarterback for the Arena Football League’s Iowa Barnstormers.

The St. Louis Rams head coach, Dick Vermeil, sees something special in Kurt and makes him the second-string quarterback. Vermeil was an undrafted walk-on. He believed that destiny belongs to the underdog. The Rams’ starting quarterback, Trent Green, is injured and out for the 1999 NFL season. Kurt becomes the starting quarterback. Kurt wins his first game by picking the Ravens’ defense apart. That begins The Greatest Show on Turf and a 13-3 season record for the Rams. He goes on to win Super Bowl XXXIV. Kurt becomes both a two-time NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. Kurt breaks Joe Montana’s record for the most passing yards in a Super Bowl during the game. Kurt was inducted into the football Hall of Fame in 2017.

Regarding Kurt WarnerKurt Warner: Life made him an underdog. Faith made him a champion.

The Father had a far greater purpose in mind for Kurt than he could ever imagine. The same is true of each child of the King. The Father has a dream for each of us.

Ephesians 3:20 God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

The apostle Paul prays that the Father will empower the children of the King with inner strength through His Spirit from His glorious, unlimited resources (Ephesians 3:16).

REFLECT & PRAY

“Do what you can do, till you can do what you want to do” (Kurt Warner).

Father I thank You that You are the God of underdogs. You often use ordinary people to accomplish remarkable, if not supernatural, tasks. Encourage me to have the confidence to believe that if Kurt Warner can do it, I can do it.

INSIGHT

In a sense, all children of the King are underdogs. The Father favors the underdog. He enables underdogs to rise above their pedestrian prospects.

1 Corinthians 1:27 God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.

Many things in life seem difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish. Lord Jesus Christ reveals how difficult it is for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God. But thinking on the street was that the well-off had far better prospects for entering the kingdom of God. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wealth and material possessions are stumbling blocks to the affluent. They depend on things and their own abilities rather than a Father.

Mark 10:23-26

 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

 24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.

 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

 26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

This message was shocking to His followers. “The reaction of the disciples was that if what Jesus was saying was true, to be saved at all was well-nigh impossible. Then Jesus stated the whole doctrine of salvation in a nutshell. ‘If,’ he said, ‘salvation depended on a person’s own efforts, it would be impossible for anyone. But salvation is the gift of God, and all things are possible to him.’ Those who trust in themselves and in their possessions can never be saved. Those who trust in the saving power and the redeeming love of God can enter freely into salvation” (Barclay).

The Lord Jesus Christ clarifies His instruction regarding what is possible through human effort versus the miracle-working power of the living God.

Mark 10:27 With man, it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.

“While without Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5), with Him nothing is impossible. The demands and stresses of life can easily overwhelm any of us, but they are no match for the risen Son of God” (Stanley).

How do children of the King actualize the power of the living God in their lives? How does the impossible become possible?

Philippians 4:11-12

 11 I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.

 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

No matter what his circumstances, Paul had learned the gift of contentment. The Greek word translated as content is autarkes. For the Greeks and Romans, autarkes meant being entirely self-sufficient and independent of all things and all people. It meant steeling themselves against the inevitable harshness and calamities of everyday life.

The pagan philosophers of Paul’s day said, “I will learn to be content by a deliberate act of my own will” (Barclay). On the other hand, Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ, who infuses his strength into me” (Barclay). Paul saw contentment as a divine gift because he had learned to be God-sufficient. The philosophers believed that contentment resulted from human achievement and self-sufficiency. “Paul could face anything because in every situation he had Christ; those who walk with Christ can cope with anything” (Barclay).

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.

Paul turns self-sufficiency on its head. Paul experiences contentment because of his Christ-sufficiency. “In effect, this sentence [Philippians 4:13] spells out at the practical level the slogan of his life, expressed in Philippians 1:21 ‘for me to live is Christ’” (Fee).

So it was for Kurt and Brenda Warner. So it can be for every child of the King.

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© Dr. H 2022