On the other side of the field stood the upstart New York Giants. Nobody gave them a chance at the start of the season. A grumpy coach and a young quarterback meant that this would probably be a rebuilding season for them. And yet somehow they made the playoffs and scratched and clawed their way to the Super Bowl, only to face the menacing New England Patriots.
It was one of those games where you knew who would win. All year long New England destroyed other teams, often winning by 20, 30, or even 40 points. And you just felt that these New York Giants weren’t going to last very long. I watched the game with a few friends, and confidently announced that I thought New England would win by 28 points.
And yet somehow, the New York Giants did the miraculous. On a last minute game-winning drive, they ended New England’s perfect season and made history. They didn’t appear to be as good a team as the Patriots. They didn’t appear to have as many good players as the Patriots. And yet somehow, the underdog came through and surprised everyone who was watching.
It was such a big upset that it reminded me of how God works. There’s a common theme through the Bible, in which God seems to use the least-skilled, or the least-equipped to do the job. Over and over again, the Bible tells us stories of how the underdog came through. From David over Goliath on down, God loves to use normal everyday people to do miraculous things.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”
That’s good news for you and I. We might not be overly talented, or experts at the top of our fields, but with God’s help we can do incredible things. You might be amazed at what God could do if you were to ask him to use you.
