07/16/2026
Hope For The Day
The Horse Nobody Believed In
By Grady
This mornin' I was thinkin' about an old racehorse named Mine That Bird.
Now, I ain't much for gamblin', but I do enjoy watchin' a good horse run.
Back in 2009, they lined 'em all up for the Kentucky Derby. The experts had their charts. The gamblers had their favorites. The television folks had already picked who they figured would wear the roses.
Then there was this little horse named Mine That Bird.
Fifty-to-one odds.
Most folks figured he was just there to fill a stall.
When the gates opened, he dropped way back. So far back you'd think he was runnin' the wrong race. But his jockey kept believin'. He waited. He watched. Then a little hole opened up along the rail.
That little horse shot through like he'd been waitin' his whole life for that moment.
When he crossed the finish line, the announcer could hardly believe what he'd seen.
"Mine That Bird has won the Kentucky Derby! A spectacular... impossible result!"
Now, I got to thinkin'...
A lot of folks feel like they're livin' their own version of fifty-to-one odds.
Doctor says the outlook ain't good.
The job disappears.
The marriage falls apart.
The bills stack higher than the hay in the barn.
Or maybe you're just plain tired of wonderin' if tomorrow's gonna be any different than today.
Friend, don't confuse long odds with no hope.
The Bible is full of folks who looked like they didn't stand a chance.
David was just a shepherd boy.
Gideon watched God shrink his army down to three hundred men.
Sarah was far beyond the age of bearing children.
Lazarus had already been buried four days.
Peter stepped out of a boat into a storm because Jesus said, "Come."
God has always had a habit of doin' His finest work through the ones everybody else has already counted out.
Hebrews 11:1 says,
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (NKJV)
And Jesus said,
"If you have faith as a mustard seed... nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20, NKJV)
That little mustard seed don't look like much when it's in your hand.
But plant it.
Water it.
Wait on the Lord.
You'll be amazed what God can grow out of something the world overlooked.
A friend of mine has a little filly that came into this world with a hard start. Folks could've looked at her and seen nothing but long odds.
He named her Big Faith.
I reckon that's about right.
He wasn't pretendin' the struggle wasn't real.
He was simply sayin' that the struggle doesn't get the final word.
Only God does.
So if you're feelin' like the horse nobody's bettin' on...
Keep runnin'.
Your story ain't over.
There just might be an opening ahead that only God can see.
And one of these days, folks may look at your life and say,
"Now that's an impossible result."
I'll just smile.....because I've learned that what's impossible for man has always been God's favorite trail to ride.
— Grady
"Tell it like it is, Pard... the odds never intimidate the One who writes the finish line."
