Grasshoppers
Ponder: What can God do with grasshoppers?
Scripture: “Then we saw the giants . . . and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Numbers 13:33, NKJV).
Where I live (north Texas), we have grasshoppers. Big ones! Too many of them! I confess, I am not hesitant about stepping on them, especially if they are anywhere near my garden!
Few people remember the names of the ten timid spies who accompanied the faithful Joshua and Caleb as they scoped out the land of Canaan. But we remember their fearful words: “we were like grasshoppers . . .” Unlike Joshua and Caleb, who knew they could do anything God wanted them to do, the ten faithless spies saw themselves as small and insignificant, especially compared to the larger, stronger, better-armed Canaanites.
In Exodus 10, one of the plagues in Egypt was a locust (grasshopper) plague. It contributed to the defeat of the Egyptians as the Lord brought the Hebrew slaves out into the wilderness and, eventually, into the Promised Land. The same spies who whined about appearing like grasshoppers had seen with their own eyes what God did to the mighty Pharaoh in Egypt with grasshoppers. But they didn’t believe He could use human “grasshoppers” to defeat the Canaanites. What a pity!
Sadly, most of the Israelites sided with the ten faithless spies, rather than with Joshua and Caleb. As a result, that entire generation wandered in the desert until they died. Joshua took the next generation across Jordan into the Promised Land.
Jesus has charged us with reaching our lost world with His gospel. Those who oppose us are far more than we are. Humanly speaking, they have more resources (money, technology, education, political clout, etc.). We could become discouraged, thinking we are incapable of completing the task. In one sense, we would be right – “we” can’t do it. But remember what God can do with grasshoppers!
Our God has not surrendered any of His power. By His grace, and with His help, we can and must do what He has commanded. Let us not wander in the desert, but go forth and conquer with the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation!
Song: “Soldiers of Christ, Arise!”
Prayer: Holy Father, we are happy to be Your grasshoppers. Use us, and help us to be willing to be used, to do great things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)