One of the things I love about God is how He is always on the side of the little guy. He likes to make the weak strong so they can do good. Along those lines, today, I want to talk about Alexander the Great, one of my favorite historical figures. Alexander was a tyrant who came to power after his father, Philip the second, died. Philip had assembled an enormous, highly trained army, so when Alexander ascended the throne, he gained control of what would’ve been the world’s most powerful military. Like a kid in a candy store, he seized power of the troops and began to go after everything. But what set him apart from other tyrants is that he was determined to spread civilization to the Barbarians. His goal was to bring Greek philosophy and lifestyle — or Hellenism — to Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe, and to erase different worldviews and replace them with his way of life. Interestingly, after he died, his kingdom was split up, and the two sides — the Seleucids and Ptolemies — went to war with each other. In one battle, the Seleucid Empire took Israel from the Ptolemais (the Egyptian empire), and then proceeded to tell the Jews to either worship their gods or lose their lives. Faced with that threat, an old priest named Matthew — a man completely faithful to God — went out to the hills with his five sons to hide. Unfortunately, he was found by a guard and told to either sacrifice a pig to a pagan idol or die. Determined not to give in, Matthew said “no” and got arrested, but somehow, he managed to free himself from his captors and epically kill all the guards. Though he passed away soon after, his eldest son, Judas Maccabeus, raised up an army of six thousand men who defeated one of the most sophisticated, well-trained militaries of the time and went on to establish their own kingdom. Their victory was a miracle because, realistically, it shouldn’t have happened! In fact, this story is an amazing testament to how God lays down the proud and strong and lifts up the humble by His Mighty Hand.

My friend, if you’re going through something and you feel weak and out of energy, God is on your side. He is advocating for the tired, the broken, and the sinner, and He’s got you when you’re struggling. He rescues you when you’re at your weakest, and when you think you’re in the worst place, you’re often in the best. Jesus is with you when you’re thriving or in the throes, and regardless of your circumstances, He wants you to remain humble and encouraged so you can receive His victory and guide others to His help!