One concept we learned in math is the concept of probability. We were probably given a shape or numbers and asked to determine the likelihood of certain outcomes. As we progressed in math, we may have taken statistics, which required us to analyze data and to determine the likelihood of outcomes. In real life, we make similar predictions, and base them upon inductive and deductive reasoning, what we have seen happen to others, and other physical evidence to draw conclusions on what has happened and what is going to happen. This is why many of us are living below our potential or live in fear of stepping out on faith and answering our call to destiny, because after gathering statistical data we have determined in our minds that the odds are against us.
In this life, all of us have had the odds stacked against us. We may be members of a marginalized community; may have come from single-parent home; may have been born out of wedlock; may not come from an influential or affluent family; may go home to violent situations; may be struggling financially; or may be faced with a bad doctor’s report. The odds are against us. The good news, as we find in this scripture, “if God is for us, who can be against us,” Romans 8:31. No matter what the odds are, we still can overcome them with the help and power of the Lord. We cannot give up or give into our situations just because things are not weighing in our favor. We have to keep pressing forward anyhow. We have to keep trying.
The odds do not determine our destiny or whether we win or lose. God does. If we are operating in the will of God and in truth, God is on our side. It does not matter who or what is on the other side. The devil and the world is good at making us think that the odds are against us when we really have a great deal going for us. For us to realize that we have the odds in our favor regardless of the circumstances, we have to believe in spite of the odds. Instead of looking at our situation negatively, we have to look at it as something positive and know that God can turn the odds into our favor. This is what it means to have God on our side.
At the end of Avatar, the main character, Jake, prays and asks for victory for the native people. He knew the odds were against them. All they had were bows and arrows, horses and flying dragons. But the humans had machine guns, military planes, and electronic, giant robots carrying weapons with lots more people to fight. The odds were against the natives. At the end of the movie, it seemed like all hope was gone. The humans had caused the natives to retreat, but out of nowhere, the beasts of the land attacked the humans, and they were able to help Jake win victory for the native people. Although this is fiction, the truth is prayer can turn the odds in our favor. Let us be encouraged even when the odds are against us.
