It’s football season in the United States. I have never been one who gets into sports. I can sit and enjoy a game if I’m in good company but it’s never my choice–except once for a Michigan/Ohio game. However, it seems that most of the population in our country is very sports-oriented. We pay outrageous salaries to the participants who entertain us and fill our homes with team-swag, anything that shows our devotion to our favorites.

Typically, each sport has divisions–seven for high school football–depending on the school size. Boxing and wrestling separate opponents into weight classes. Each sport attempts to even the playing field from the start. It makes for a more interesting match and draws more fans, more money. But, who would go to watch a 125-pound man wrestle against a 300-pound man? If the opponents are not evenly matched, we assume the bigger, stronger, faster players will run away with an embarrassing win over the other team and the match will be very boring.

God often calls for battles between two groups but not only does he not attempt to even the field; He is always on the side of the lightweight, the underdog. He intentionally sets the field so it appears to be a no-brainer. He sent David, the young shepherd boy, to tackle Goliath, the nine-foot giant. (1 Samuel 17) Gideon started out with 32,000 men against an army of 135,000 but God said they had too many warriors. He reduced them to only 300 but gave them the victory. (Judges 7)

The entire Bible is filled with unlikely heroes. To the Israelites, the Lord said, “ADONAI didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people–on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples.” (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) Do you feel weak, puny, outnumbered? God wants you on his team. If you choose to sign on with Him you can be sure that your retirement package will be out of this world! There is a huge victory in your future!