Ugly Betty

So recently I've started watching this show "Ugly Betty" and I'm actually really liking it. Ok so it does have some drama in it that I think is really pretty stupid, but for the most part they don't focus the show on it. The show is basically about this girl, Betty, who is considered to be ugly, and outcast, the underdog. She works in the fashion industry where she is completely out of her element. Everything stacked against her would lead you to believe that she would not be successful. You would think that she is no where near qualified to do the job that she does. However, Betty always overcomes. She always saves the day. I've really gotten into it because I see this girl, who seems to have everything stacked against her, yet it never keeps her from doing everything she can to overcome the obstacles. I really love to see the story of the underdog winning.
I think the reason I like this so much is because I often feel like Ugly Betty. I often feel that I have so much stacked against me, that the odds are not in my favor. I know that I am way underqualified to do what God has called me to do. I know that I have battles in my life that are constantly raging. I know that I often feel inadequate and not quite good enough. I often feel like I'm the underdog. I am the one that no one really expected to pull through. I am the one that people said would never make it. "Samantha will always be sick. Samantha will always have issues. Samantha is a whore and always will be" The last one sounds way harsh right? But the truth is that these are all things I've had said to me and about me over and over again. To many, it seems the odds are stacked against me. Sometimes to me it seems the odds are against me. But I have one things that out weighs any obstacles, and that is the fact that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that makes me an overcomer. In my life, the "underdog" wins because God has given me the stregnth and ability to do all he has called me to do. The way some people in my past may see me means absolutely nothing because Jesus sees me as white as snow and has made me an overcomer. I'm tired of allowing what others have said about me affect the way I live my life. I'm tired of dwelling on those things. In my story, despite the obstacles in my way, I always overcome.

Hope and Faith

"Against all hope Abraham in hope, believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and Sarah's womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he promised." - Romans 4:18-21

This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It starts by saying that "against all hope, in hope, Abraham believed." At a time where all hope could have and apart from God should have been lost, Abraham had hope and believed. Then it continues to say that "without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead"... I think this is really amazing. Abraham faced the facts about his situation, yet didn't weaken in his faith. I think sometimes we forget this. We usually do one of two things: We face the facts of our situation and allow ourselves to weaken in faith or we refuse to face the facts of our situation and masquerade it by calling it faith. For example, I have heard people announce, "I have cancer" and the next words out of the mouths of those around him are "Don't say that, keep speaking that you don't have cancer. If you say you don't have cancer, then you will be healed." Seriously? I think that's just dumb. The Bible doesn't tell us to be naive about our circumstances and pretend they don't exist. The Bible clearly tells us that we need to have faith despite our circumstances. The correct thing to do in a situation like the one above is not to pretend that the cancer doesn't exist, but to trust that God is in control and will do what he has promised to do. I use the cancer as an example because I hear people say stuff like this all the time, but I believe this is true of all of our circumstances. We can't pretend they don't exist. We need to face the facts of our circumstances but trust that God is powerful enough to see us through them. I think we sometimes try to pretend our problems don't exist because its difficult to have faith when we actually see our situation for what it is. However, when we can trust God just a little bit, our faith will be strengthened. I think that God wants us to see the impossibility of our situations and then watch Him make all things possible.