How to Defeat Grasshopper Thinking

I’m a country girl at heart having spent most of my childhood outdoors. When you do, especially in Southwest Louisiana, you can’t help but become acquainted with bugs and insects. I'd lie in the lush grass and watch as mosquito hawks danced, ants marched, grasshoppers bounced and, my personal favorite, rolly pollys meandered. They were each tiny creatures existing within a larger, more powerful world. 

Sometimes we feel equally small in light of seemingly giant obstacles in our lives. Perhaps you’ve felt that way as you faced a loved one’s progressive disease, or the loss of a job, or a rebellious child, or a depleted bank account. If so, you aren’t alone.

The Israelites felt powerless when they surveyed the inhabitants of the Promised Land. Ten men were sent out to explore, eight came back overwhelmed by the obstacles seen, reporting that they felt as helpless as grasshoppers. As a result, the people were afraid to enter God’s blessing.  Instead, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years until only their children gained entrance. 

That is, all but two. Joshua and Caleb were part of the ten, yet they refused to be defeated by grasshoppers. It didn’t matter what their eyes saw; what mattered was how big God was. They knew what He’d already done for them and trusted that He would provide a way. They walked in obedience and entered the Promise Land.

Message for the Journey:

Can any obstacle be bigger than God? When you seem insignificant compared to the situation around you, stand firm. Don’t be like the Israelites and miss God’s blessings because you allow grasshopper feelings to overrule what you know. Trust God and in obedience, press on.

©Ann Wilds

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(Isaiah 40:22)