Our backyard was enormous with plenty of room for Momma’s chickens to roam, a swing-set with a slide and teeter-totter, a large patio, and on the far back side of the lot, a graveyard for every pet goldfish that passed away and any little bird that failed its flying lessons. It offered plenty of room to run, play, and explore, as well as find ways to get into trouble.
The first playmate I remember was the granddaughter of the older couple who lived next door. Her name was Chaquita. About five years old, she was a few months older than me and tended to be a trouble-maker.
By that, I mean she got me into trouble on more than a few occasions.
One day, Chaquita and I were exploring the yard, and we found a grasshopper. We caught the hopping critter and took turns examining it from every angle as it struggled to free itself. Then Chaquita had a brilliant idea. She dared me to eat the grasshopper. I looked at Chaquita, then looked at the grasshopper again. It grew before my eyes. Even at four years old, I was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea, but she kept egging me on.
I held the grasshopper between my thumb and forefinger. I looked at the grasshopper, and it looked at me. In a moment of foolish bravery, I decided the fate of that grasshopper as I stuck it halfway into my mouth and bit down hard.
A sickening crunch filled my ears, and a gooey ooze filled my mouth. Spitting, choking, and crying, I ran into the house to find my Momma. I swear, I can still hear that crunch when that memory flashes through my mind.
Now, decades later, anytime I see or read (or write) about a grasshopper, I have an “Eww! Ick!” moment.
God miraculously delivered the children of Israel from captivity and slavery in Egypt to lead them to the land He had promised to Abraham and his descendants. The journey from Egypt to the outskirts of Canaan was filled with episodes of disobedience, anger, and rebellion.
Excitement grew as the Israelites neared their objective. Moses called out twelve men to go into Canaan to spy out the land. For forty days, the men scoped out the land, the commerce, and the people.
When the men returned with their report, they brought back samples of the land’s bountiful fruits, including a single cluster of grapes so large it required two men to carry the cluster strung from a pole. The men said Canaan was a land of plenty, flowing with milk and honey—lush, beautiful—a land of abundance. (Numbers 13:1-24)
BUT, the men reported that the people were strong, the cities large and fortified, and there were GIANTS in the land. Ten of the men said, “There’s no way we can fight these people. They’re far stronger than us.”
Caleb, one of the twelve spies, said, “God has given us this land. We can overcome!”
The ten naysayers argued that there was no way Israel could win against the people of the land. “We look like grasshoppers in comparison to the giants that we saw. And, it was clear, they saw us as grasshoppers and not a threat.” (Numbers 13:25-33)
The children of Israel revolted and refused to follow God’s leading into the Promised Land, resulting in their forty years of suffering and wandering in the wilderness, so close, but still so far away from the land of promise. Not one of that generation, except for Caleb and Joshua, lived to enter Canaan forty years later.
“We’re just grasshoppers! We can’t do this!”
And they were right. In their own strength and by their own power, it was a hopeless situation. There’s no way that the “grasshopper-sized” people could defeat the mighty giants, the well-equipped armies, and the powerful fortresses of the Canaanites.
Therein lies the problem. The Israelites did not understand who God was (and still is). Even though He had demonstrated His power over and over again in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the many miracles of protection and provision they had experienced since leaving Egypt, they did not get it.
“Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.'” Isaiah 35:4 ESV
It’s easy to judge the Israelites for their lack of faith and unwillingness to trust God’s promises and faithfulness. But we should look closely at our own lives before we condemn the unbelief of the Israelites.
Almost all of us at one time or another have said things like, “I just don’t have it in me to be able to do this. This situation is too big for me to deal with. The odds are against me; I can’t fight this battle. This opportunity requires skills I don’t have.” The list of why we can’t is almost endless. And, the truth is, when we make these types of statements, they are usually true.
I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. The world constantly reinforces the idea that “we are enough.” It tells us we are to be “self-sufficient.” “We can make anything happen if we put our minds to it.” “We should depend on no one other than ourselves.”
When we hear those ideas and similar ones repeated ad nauseam, we begin to believe they are true. And when we inevitably fail trying to do it all on our own, we beat ourselves up because we don’t measure up like we should.
Friend, those are the lies of the devil, sin, and self. These deceivers do not want you to find your Source of Power. They do not want you to find your Strength. They do not want you to win in this cosmic battle of life and death.
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 ESV
Dear Believer, your Power Source—your Strength—your Victory is found in God Almighty.
Maybe we are the size of grasshoppers in terms of power and strength, but our omnipotent (all-powerful) God is bigger than any giant that will ever come against us.
“Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!” Psalm 24:8 ESV
Our LORD God, He alone is our Victory.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Ephesians 6:10 ESV