Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:  Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces (Proverbs 30:24-28).

We all like to cheer for the "underdog," don't we?  We want to see the Davids beat the Goliaths, the Cinderellas win the Prince -- because it speaks to something in our own insecurities and inadequacies.  We all find ourselves in the role of the underdog at times, when it's our most desperate desire to succeed in the face of overwhelming opposition.  But here's the real trick:  An underdog's success is rarely the result of random chance or luck.  On the contrary, if an underdog is ever to succeed, it requires realistic expectations, creative troubleshooting -- and above all, wisdom.

Proverbs 30:24-28 offers a glimpse into four different underdog scenarios, and it shows us that in each case the key to success rests in an acceptance of one's weaknesses and a creative plan of attack against the challenges of the underdog.

Exhibit A:  Ants.  Studies have shown that ants are actually pretty strong for their size -- but the fact of the matter is that when you're as small as an ant, you don't stand much of a chance against a big ol' anteater or a kid with a magnifying glass.  But even so, ants thrive in a wide variety of climates and geographical conditions, and they do it because they organize themselves in constantly-reproducing colonies comprised of thousands of worker-ants with a sort of instinctive work ethic that keeps them constantly on the look-out for food sources that can be systematically picked apart, carried, and stored within their nests.  A single ant is so little that it can't even carry a slice of apple back to its nest -- but working as a team and taking things in small, bite-sized pieces (literally), they manage remarkably well.  Their strategy for dealing with their underdog status seems to center around team-work and breaking a big problem down into small fragments that can dealt with piece-by-piece.  And it would seem that we have something to learn from them.

Exhibit B:  Coneys.  If you see a picture of a coney, you're more likely to think "Aw, how cute and cuddly" than "What a formidible creature with a mastery of his surroundings."  Coneys look an awful lot like guinea pigs or hamsters -- which makes you wonder how they can carve out an existence anywhere outside of a highly sheltered environment, esconced in cedar chips, a small, round, red treadmill for exercise, and clean drinking water and food pellets provided every day or two.  And yet coneys not only survive in the outside world; they survive in the unforgiving environment of a rocky desert terrain in the blazing white heat of the Middle East.  And not only do they survive in this challenging environment; they thrive to the point that they're generally considered to be pests!  Their strategy for dealing with their underdog status seems to center around using their natural characteristics -- particularly their small size, their strong rodent teeth, and again their ability to work as a team with other coneys -- to their advantage.  Their colonies are virtually impenetrable because they're built into rock walls of cliffs, and they always leave sentries by the entrances to their tunnels.  Their defensive skills are truly remarkable.  We definitely have something to learn from coneys.

Exhibit C:  Locusts.  Again, if you look at a locust on the individual level -- it's hard to see why they're such fearsome creatures, discussed in almost apocalyptic terms whenever they pop up in history (like during the plague of locusts against Egpyt in ancient times or the 1930s infestations in North America which led to the Dust Bowl era).  It's hard to see what the big deal really is.  They don't really bite or sting.  They aren't big enough to hurt you if they fly into you.  They mostly just ignore humans and stick to eating vegetation.  A pair of big shoes seems to be the only thing that you need to combat the dreaded locust.  Yet locusts are a fearsome figure in our world today because they travel in seemingly infinite numbers, and they never give up until they've consumed everything that they want to consume.  They find strength in their underdog scenarios from their teamwork and their perseverance.  Even though they're very small, they pack such a powerful punch that they can overpower and immobilize entire regions of much larger species.  Locusts are very impressive creatures, indeed.

Exhibit D:  Lizards.  Lizards are fast and small -- but they're actually not that hard to catch.  Still, not very many people like to keep lizards as pets because they're not particularly affectionate, cuddly, or intelligent creatures.  Even so, lizards can be found all over the place (in warmer climates, at least).  They use their size and their speed to find cracks (literally) in a place's defenses.  And as a result, they can be found even in king's palaces.  So once again, the underdog finds a way to win by choosing the "back-door" routes, the cracks, the small and subtle ways of getting through difficult situations.  And if we want to succeed as underdogs in life, then we have to learn the same skills.

So let us learn from the examples of the ants, the coneys, the locusts, and the lizards.  Let us be small, agile, organized, efficient, defensively-minded, determined, adaptable, and above all -- united with others who are desiring the same goals as we are.