Grasshoppers versus God

The very title of this blog entry is absurd!  We know a mere grasshopper is nothing against Almighty God!  The only comparison is that one is weak and imperfect while the other is strong and flawless.

I was intrigued again this week while reading the account in the Old Testament book of Numbers about the twelve men of Israel who went to spy out the land of Canaan.  They came back rather upset.  Out of the twelve men, ten of them were shaken.  They reported that the land God had chosen for them was rich and fruitful — “flowing with milk and honey.”  However, the people were giants compared to them.  “We’re just like grasshoppers compared to the people of this country,” the men reported in fear and trembling, “we can never take this land.”

There were two of the twelve men who reported in chapter 14 that, yes, the people are stronger and bigger in size than them.  “However,” they proclaimed in courage and with conviction, “God has led us to this land and promised it to us; He will give it to us.  We must enter to receive all that He has for us.”

God had promised them all along that He would give them a wonderful land to be their own.  They travelled far, faced many obstacles, got to the door of promise, and stopped, trembling in their shoes.  Why?  One reason and one reason alone.  They took their focus off God and put it on the obstacles.  Then they put themselves in the place of God and saw only grasshoppers.  They forgot that the battle and promise was God’s responsibility, and took that responsibility to be their own.  Rightly so, they determined that, grasshoppers could not overcome the giant obstacles that faced them.

You and I can read such an account and see the obvious.  We can easily scold the ten faithless ones — but how often do you and I see obstacles to what God has told us to do and, like the above, suddenly we, too, remove our focus from Almighty God — who has never let us down — and we focus on the hurdles that seemingly block our way.

You and I are truly like grasshoppers.  We can’t face and overcome the giants that block our way.  How comforting that we don’t have to; Almighty God will prepare the way, lead us along each step, and give His own wisdom and strength to overcome any hurdle — no matter how humongous the giant that faces us.