God Loves an Underdog

Lately, Ceaser and I have fallen in love with a new show we’ve been watching called Will Trent. I didn’t expect to get hooked, but here I am getting personally invested, finding little life lessons tucked into every crime scene, analysing characters and yelling at the screen with displeasure when they don’t do what I’m telling them is good for them. The show has well and truly drawn me in, not just by the crime-solving or the drama, though it’s excellent, but because of Will himself. His story hits something deep in my heart. Will Trent isn’t your typical hero. He’s the ultimate underdog.

Will’s beginnings were heartbreaking: he was the son of a prostitute and was abandoned in a dumpster at birth. From the very start, he was discarded, left to survive in a world that didn’t want him. He was thrown into the foster care system in Atlanta, moving from one abusive home to another, with each placement being worse than the last. The other kids called him “Trash,” a cruel label that stuck for years.

Even with the emotional scars he must have carried, the rejection, the loneliness and the daily survival against cruelty, Will never let his circumstances harden him. He never allowed bitterness to take root in his heart. Even more impressively, he never developed an attitude of entitlement, expecting people to make life easier for him just because he had been handed a brutal start. Somehow, he remained tender, he became compassionate, and he grew up to be a man of quiet strength, high integrity, and remarkable resilience.

As if the trauma of his early years wasn’t enough, Will also has dyslexia. Reading and writing, things many people take for granted, are daily battles for him. But again, instead of seeing his dyslexia as an excuse to give up, he found a way to push through it. He learned how to navigate his challenges by becoming hyper-focused on details that others overlook. His mind adapted to spot things others missed, turning his so-called weaknesses into an unexpected strength. Will eventually rose to become a meticulous, highly respected detective for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). He’s known for his uncanny ability to spot the small, easily missed details at crime scenes that others pass right by. His sharp eye, integrity, and refusal to be shaped by cynicism set him apart, not just as a good detective, but as a deeply admirable human being.

Watching Will Trent’s story unfold week after week has been such a powerful reminder for me. It’s reminded me that our past doesn’t have the final say over our future. That our disadvantages don’t have to disqualify us. That our pain doesn’t have to poison us. Maybe that’s why I love Will so much, because he’s a living, fictional reminder of a real spiritual truth I grew up believing: our Heavenly Father loves an underdog story. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture is full of people who had no business becoming heroes, yet God raised them up anyway. Watching Will Trent has been entertaining, yes, but it’s also been another nudge from God to remember that He delights in using the unlikely and the overlooked to do incredible things.

Will Trent might be a fictional character, but the story he embodies is very real for many of us: overcoming rejection, setbacks, personal limitations, and doing it not because life finally got fair, but because perseverance and grace carried us through. If you’ve ever felt like the underdog, you’re in good company. And trust me, God’s just getting started writing your victory story. In His hands, underdogs become champions.

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us so much that He died for us. ~ Romans 8:37 (AMP)

The victory God offers us isn’t because we were born into ideal circumstances. It’s not because we were the strongest or the smartest. It’s because God’s love has a way of picking up what the world calls trash and turning it into treasure. Have you ever thought about how Jesus Himself was an underdog? He wasn’t born in a palace, but in a stable. He wasn’t raised in the “right” city; He came from Nazareth, a place so overlooked that people would say, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Scripture even tells us that there was nothing particularly beautiful or majestic about His appearance. And yet… Jesus changed the world.

When I look at my life, I see plenty of moments where I was the underdog. Moments where the odds were against me, when my future seemed uncertain, or when I felt like there was no possible way I could win. And honestly? I don’t think that feeling will ever completely go away. But that’s okay, because God’s speciality is writing victorious endings for underdogs like you and me. Here are 5 things to remember, even if you’re the underdog in the story God is writing:

Remember, All Things Are Possible.

When you’re the underdog, which we all are, the temptation is to focus on all the reasons why success is unlikely. But God has a way of making impossible things inevitable. In Luke 18:27, Jesus says, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Our job isn’t to figure out how God will do it, our job is to believe that He can and will.

Don’t Be Surprised When You Start Winning.

Only losers are surprised when they start winning. If you’ve been walking with God, victory shouldn’t shock you. You’re a winner because He has already declared it. When blessings start to unfold, honour God by expecting it. Being shocked by success can sometimes reveal hidden feelings of unworthiness. I know this has always been the case with me, so my encouragement to you is to trust that you are walking into the victories He designed for you.

Never Underestimate Your Enemy

As the wins start piling up, don’t let your guard down. The enemy we face is strategic, patient, and ruthless. Victory doesn’t mean you can relax spiritually, it means you must stay disciplined. Stay in community, stay in the Word and stay prayerful. Like Will Trent, who leaves no detail unnoticed at a crime scene, be meticulous about your spiritual life. Keep your armour on.

No Matter What, Keep Looking for a Way to Win

Even Jesus, in His darkest moment in Gethsemane, looked for a way to fulfil the Father’s will. He didn’t give up because it was hard. He submitted because He trusted the outcome. When you’re faced with obstacles, stop asking yourself, “How am I going to avoid losing?” Start asking, “What does winning look like from here?” Let the Holy Spirit guide your steps, even if it’s painful or requires radical change. God may have your win require great sacrifice, doing things no one in your circle has ever done before. Don’t be afraid to make history or to go against the traditions of man for the victory God has for you. With God on your side and a renewed and submitted mind, victory is still possible.

Remember, It’s Not Over Until God Says It’s Over

Has something ever felt finished, dead, and buried only for God to breathe life into it again? The resurrection of Jesus after three days reminds us that when God is in the story, dead things don’t stay dead. When you feel like all hope is lost, don’t let your feelings have the final word. Only God’s Word should count. Trust Him to call forth life from the ashes and from that place of trust, call those things that are not as though they are. Speak life!

If life has you feeling like the underdog, good. You’re exactly the kind of person God loves to use. From stables to thrones, from dumpsters to detective agencies and from overlooked towns to global movements, God is a master storyteller who loves a good underdog story. Keep going. Victory is written into your DNA because you are His. In the end, you’re not just going to win. You’re going to win overwhelmingly, because He loves you that much.