Win! 5 Day Devotional for Your Victory!Sýnishorn

 

Have No Fear, Underdog Is Here!

Growing up in the 70's we watched a cartoon called "Underdog". Although "Underdog" originally ran in the 60's, we watched reruns of this animated kids' show daily, at one point as kids. I never really thought much about the name of the show, or the character until I got much older, but Underdog always seemed to save the day and to surprise everyone, even his girlfriend, "Sweet Polly Purebread"! Little did anyone know, but Underdog's "real" name was "Shoeshine Boy". Shoeshine Boy was a humble, hard worker who shined shoes for a living and spoke in soft, humble tones. It wasn't until he heard the sound of someone in distress that he became "Underdog", but even as Underdog, he wasn't seen as a likely hero. He often messed things up. 

We've all probably felt like that even on what was supposed to be our best day, right? I know I have. 

For some reason, we love rooting for whoever may be sitting in the seat of the "underdog" at any given time. I'm not sure if it's the connection we each feel with being looked at as one who won't amount to much, having come through great trials growing up in the inner city, or in a single-parent home, or perhaps in foster care. May be there's a connection we have with the "underdog" character because we just weren't afforded some of the opportunities that others seem to have been given, or perhaps we have lived a long life of struggle and we've always felt like we were the least likely to succeed. 

I always felt like Rahab, the harlot was that woman who everyone looked at as the least likely to succeed at anything except making money in a "profession" that no one thought highly of. That profession, of course, according to Joshua 2:1, was prostitution. Rahab was probably the lowest of the lowest in the eyes of most of the people of Jericho. She lived in or on the city wall, seeing all who came and went. She served as a key person for the Israelites, hiding two of the men on her rooftop from the king until all was clear. She then struck a bargain to secure her family's future and then let them down by rope to escape. It is noted in Matthew 1:5 that Rahab found her way into the lineage of Jesus Christ, although she wasn't what most people would think of when thinking of the lineage of Christ. Some have disputed this, but if there ever was an underdog, Rahab was a great example of a woman who did what she thought was the right thing to do at the moment and allowed herself to be used for the greater good.

Sometimes, you may feel like the worst of all underdogs. You may wear the title in your mind for weeks at a time, or years at a time, like Rahab, the harlot. You may feel like your time for winning must be around the corner. Rahab's actions secured her a place in a people group that had the hand of God on them. She had a beautiful baby boy named Boaz, some theologians say from one of the "spies" that she hid. She found herself, her child, and her child's children in the lineage of the greatest man to ever walk the earth, Jesus Christ.

It may not seem like much right now. It may seem futile. It may seem like no one notices and no one cares. You may be living a life that you don't want anyone to know about. You may be ready to give up. Don't. There are people that need you. There are people waiting to hear your story. There are people who need to know where you came from and how you're still alive. You may be the difference between someone committing suicide today or deciding to live. You may be like Rahab, like Underdog, carrying something on the inside of you that God has released in the earth for this season and time. 

Where are you, Rahab? It's time to birth greatness.

We hope this plan has encouraged you!