The well-known James Allen motivational quote said, “As a man thinketh, so is he.” His little book in 1903 said that our minds are powerful instruments that influence our actions and our destiny. About the same time, Henry Ford said, “If you think you can, you’re right. And if you think you can’t, you are right.” The story we’re looking at today says it this way: Think Like Grasshoppers, Play Like Grasshoppers…
How We See It
“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:30-33, NIV)
When the Hebrew spies returned from viewing the Promised Land, they were called upon to report back about what they had seen. Most of them were intimidated by who and what they saw there. They said they had seen Nephilim, who are defined in Genesis 6:4 as “sons of god and daughters of men”. No one knows exactly who the Nephilim were. You can’t build a race of warriors from a single verse, but perhaps the term was referring to some type of illicit antediluvian offspring of fallen angels and earthly women. Legend had it that these powerful beings descended from demons who impregnated human women.
Bear With Me, here
(This is speculation on my part, but I personally believe that there must have been a possibility that such unions occurred. If they did, there could have been some type of genetic contamination that happened before and during Noah’s lifetime. Although the presence of depravity in and of itself would justify mankind’s destruction, the Nephilim logically suggest another reason for God to exercise such severe judgement. It seems logical to me that part of the reason why God implemented the flood was to eliminate all traces of that genetic contamination from the earth. But I digress.)
A Less Than Inspiring Report
The Nephilim were mighty warriors, larger-than life characters against whom ten of the spies they felt they had no chance. (God did not seem to factor into their equation, by the way.) Only Joshua and Caleb believed that they could take possession of the land, but the other spies were unanimous in their insecurity. They said that they felt as small as grasshoppers in their own eyes, and that the citizens of the land viewed them in the same way. Coincidence? Perhaps James Allen nailed it: “As a man thinketh, so is he.”
Think of yourself as small and you will play small. If we feel like grasshoppers, we will act like grasshoppers. Others will see us as grasshoppers. But turn it around! Think of yourself as godly, and you will start to display godliness; if you see yourself as God’s handiwork, others will see you the same way. Put God in charge of things. You will reflect His character and be filled with His strength and courage. Think of it this way: you can go into battle with grasshoppers, or you can go into battle with the Lord of Hosts. Kinda changes the playing field doesn’t it?
Grasshopper Games
If you see yourself as small, then that is how you’ll play.
When you think you’re lost, then you will never find the way.
If you moan and say you can’t, then you are nothing like that ant
Who didn’t gripe and cry and rant
But moved the great big rubber tree plant.
Israel sent some spies to look into the promised land;
Ten of them came back and said, “Oh no! We’re under-manned!
We saw some great big Nephilim, and really, we are scared of them,
We felt like grasshoppers in their sight,
And ran from there in total fright!
They’re not the guys we want to fight!”
But Joshua and Caleb stood, and said, “Let’s take this land! We could!
The Lord of Hosts is on our side, and we don’t have to fear or hide,
Our army can go forth with pride, and we will never be denied!”
But Israel was quite dismayed at what the other spies had said:
The Promised land was long delayed because their leaders were afraid…
When you fear only God and know the work and plans are His,
THINK BIG!! And just be confident in who your LEADER is!
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