God's Coaching #74

God's Coaching #74

Let’s hear it for underdogs! No, not the people who push you high on a swing by running underneath you. Underdogs are the teams that nobody expects to win. The 2010 NCAA men’s basketball tournament witnessed perhaps the greatest collection of underdog stories in the history of the sport.

Think about these games from a wild March Madness: of the 32 first-round games, lower seeds won 10 times—the most shocking of which was 14th-seeded Ohio crushing third-ranked Georgetown, 97–83. Northern Iowa made a strong showing by stunning UNLV and top-ranked Kansas to reach the Sweet Sixteen. Cornell, not exactly a perennial basketball power, did the same by upsetting Temple and Wisconsin. And who figured St. Mary’s would bounce Richmond and second-ranked Villanova? Of course, the greatest underdog story that year was fifth-seeded Butler University, a small program from basketball-crazy Indiana. The Bulldogs crashed the party big-time and nearly upset mighty Duke in the NCAA final. Yes, in the 2010 NCAA tournament, underdogs certainly had a lot to bark about!

What’s the Score?

Did you know the Bible is full of underdogs too? Consider Nehemiah. He lived during the fifth century BC, when God’s people were returning to their homeland after Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem and exiled the people a century earlier. Jerusalem was in ruins. Its once-great wall was destroyed, its gates were burned, and its inhabitants were sad and afraid. Without a wall, the exiles returning to Jerusalem could have been attacked at any time.

Nehemiah knew the odds were stacked against him. The task of rebuilding the wall was not easy. The labor was grueling, and there were plenty of hostile neighbors who threatened Nehemiah with violence. But Nehemiah trusted God, and God protected him. Working from dawn until dusk every day, Nehemiah’s construction crews defeated their enemies (Nehemiah 6:16) and finished rebuilding the wall in only 52 days! Nehemiah’s inspiring victory is a great example for us when we feel like the underdogs. You see, the odds don’t matter to God. He is all-powerful and can do whatever pleases him. He simply wants people, like Nehemiah did, to fully trust in him. God loves using underdogs like us to show his power and glory.

On the Ball

Read the book of Nehemiah to learn more about a true underdog tale!

Coach’s Comment

When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. Nehemiah 6:16