Everybody loves a good underdog story. There’s nothing like watching the unlikeliest of individuals persevere through their difficulties, defy all odds, and come out the other side as victors or heroes. We find these types of tales all throughout Scripture. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers and falsely accused of trying to take advantage of his master’s wife before he became second in command to the Egyptian Pharaoh. David was just a young shepherd boy with no battle training, and yet he managed to slay a giant who defied the true and living God. Paul was a murderer of Christians before he received a vision of Christ and converted, and despite the many difficulties he encountered after his conversion, he is known today are one of the earliest and greatest Christian evangelists. Though these three men (and many more throughout the Bible) overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles, they did not do so on their own. They each were empowered by the Lord who filled them with strength and provided for their needs. It was the Lord who redeemed them.

There’s another underdog story in the Bible that has been especially popular amongst Christian woman. It’s a story of a young Moabite widow who, though she endured much suffering and heartache, ended up playing a much bigger role in God’s redemptive plan than she ever could have imagined.