Against the Odds

There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valiant warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two champions of Moab. Another time, on a snowy day, he chased a lion down into a pit and killed it. Once, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with it. Deeds like these made Benaiah as famous as the Three mightiest warriors. He was more honored than the other members of the Thirty, though he was not one of the Three. And David made him captain of his bodyguard. ~~2 Samuel 23:20-23 NLT

God's word amazes me. Especially those not-so-well-known messages tucked away in the middle of big stories. You know those one or two verses that some authors such as Bruce Wilerson wrote about in The Prayer of Jabez. Or the time in 2008 I read about Sheerah in First Chronicles 7 and posted about her here.

Yesterday, Pastor Monty Houston of Life Church El Paso, taught on the amazing feats of Benaiah. Ben-a-who you ask? I did too. I sat intently taking notes on this message from the key scripture above.

The story of Benaiah is tucked into Second Samuel 23 where Scriptures list the mighty warriors of King David. Most of us have read about or heard about King David. But how many of us take time to read about the details of the men who surrounded him. He strategically placed warriors around him called "mighty men." Among the list of those men is Benaiah, "a valiant warrior" who "did many heroic deeds."

Though Benaiah had many heroic deeds, only three are listed in Scriptures for us to know about. He took on two champions of Moab and killed them. He chased a lion into a pit and killed it. And with a club killed a warrior who had a spear. Those victories came against the odds.

Think about other times God showed us in His word that He brought the victories that defy the odds.

• David versus Goliath
• Gideon versus the armies of Midian
• Queen Esther
• Ruth and Naomi

Which ones can you think of to share?

Therefore, when we face trials and circumstances that seem to be against the odds, why should we fear. "If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NLT)

I confess this past week I allowed fear and doubt to creep into my life. I continued to pray, play praise music and even sang (when no one but God could hear), and worked at chasing that doubt and fear out of my life. Then when I least expected it, God showed me HIS will for me after I chased my doubts and fears away like Benaiah chased away the lion.

Sometimes I feel like the least likely to write and speak on the behalf of our Lord. However, HE called me so I MUST trust HE will equip me and lead me.

When the odds seems to be against us, we can kill off our doubts and fears with the word of God. Then God receives the glory.