The Oddity of Beating the Odds

We live in a world demanding strength and success. Look at how most real estate agents market themselves. Successful, perfect teeth that are double whitened, perfect hair, body, clothing, a perfectly posed picture, giving us the impression that they are ‘large and in charge.’ That’s also true of most politicians, newscasters, businesspeople, even pastors and their wives. 

Why do they do that? They know ‘we the people’ respond positively and follow the seemingly successful. This is not to criticize any of these people. It’s our current culture. Everyone wants a winner. We demand the latest, the greatest, the bigger, the best. 

Notice I said “most” of these people appear successful. It’s not always that way. Often, someone’s greatest weakness can be their greatest strength. Let’s call them “Dark Horses.” The odds say they won’t have a “successful” life, but there are people who don’t read the odds - they beat the odds. Here’s a true-life example of a woman who had everything against her but prospered and left an immeasurable legacy. Her true life story comes from John Maxwell in his book, The Power of Partnership.    

“The July 19, 1948, edition of Time magazine told the astounding story of Josefina Guerrero, who was awarded the Medal of Freedom for her heroic partnership with the American government in the face of the harsh brutality of World War II. During the war, Joey, as she was called, spied for the Allied forces in Manila.

"Joey was young, pretty, and vivacious. Her husband was a wealthy medical student at Santo Tomas University. But after the Japanese invaded the Philippines, she joined her friends, and together they helped internees and the U.S. prisoners of war – bringing them food, clothing, and medicine. She also carried valuable information back to the U.S. military. She mapped the waterfront areas for the Allied army and prowled the restricted regions, recording what she saw. From Joey’s drawings, American planes were able to pinpoint their targets. She quickly won the respect and the appreciation of the U.S. officials.

"For three years, until the war was over, Joey continued her cloak-and-dagger career and was never caught. Sure, she was stopped several times by suspicious Japanese, but she was never captured or searched due to her secret weapon. What was it? Leprosy!

"As a leper, she had been an outcast. No one wanted to have anything to do with her. After the war began, the very characteristic that had isolated her from others helped her accomplish her mission. Her weakness became the secret of her strength.”

What lessons can we learn from this true story? 

Firstly, don’t let what you’re not affect what you can be! In other words, bloom where you are planted. Work with what you have. Look for a way into life, not out of life. Look for your place of contribution. You are the way you are because of why you are. You are God’s workmanship, and God doesn’t make any junk.  

I have a friend who was in jail for eight years. Do you know what he did? He took online classes, studied hard, became a prayer warrior, and won 31 awards for academic excellence and good behavior while in jail. He turned his self-caused ‘broken eggs’ in his life into a great omelet! 

Secondly, every person has the potential to add tremendous value to someone and something. Sometimes it’s your weakness that gives you a ‘passport’ into something extraordinary. God said to the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians, “My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Stop focusing on your handicap, begin appreciating the gift God has given you! Why? What you focus on is what you become. It may be hard, take a bit of time, and require some mental toughness, but find your lane and drive fast. 

Learn a lesson from King David in the Bible. He was the ultimate dark-horse shepherd boy who won the Kentucky Derby and became the king of the whole country. David didn’t defeat the giant because of the way he fought; he defeated the giant because of the way he thought. Giants like Goliath are not sent into our lives to destroy us. Giants are sent into our lives to promote us.  

In life, there are no losers or winners. There are only winners and learners. Whatever makes you weird or different is probably your greatest asset. Remember that money isn’t the only measure of success; being a great person and doing what God created you to do is. Josephina wasn't rich, but she left the legacy you are reading about today. She beat the odds.     

Josephina, King David, and my friend in jail because of his own choices knew this principle, and you can too. I know it! God’s bigger than you think, so let’s change the way we think. You can’t be an overcomer without having something to overcome. And that’s the oddity of beating the odds.