The Grasshopper Mentality—Day 5 Numbers 13: 25-33 “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Let us begin today’s devotional meditating on this thought: Our faith should view the circumstances of our existence from a divine perspective. The one thing that should concern us in this life is, “Lord, what have you spoken regarding this matter?” To attempt to live life from any other perspective is to live life beneath our potential. What a shame it is to live beneath our potential. Yet, how often do we succumb to fear, doubt, or even challenges because we are not convinced we can overcome those obstacles between us and our destiny. We conclude this week’s devotional series with a figure of speech used in biblical days called meiosis....

The Grasshopper Mentality—Day 4 Numbers 13: 25-33 “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” Our focus for attention today is centered around Caleb encouraging the people to go up and conquer the land. While Caleb is encouraging the people, ten of the twelve spies are reiterating to the crowd that those living in the land are too strong. Not only are the spies discouraging the people with a fear of the giants, but the spies are not giving an accurate report of the land. God is preparing to bless the people and the spies are not speaking truthfully regarding the land. But isn’t that what we have to do whenever we reject what God has for us? We tell ourselves that the fruit is not as good as we may think. Think about that, to deny ourselves of the blessings God has...

The Grasshopper Mentality—Day 3 Numbers 13: 25-33 “Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.”  As we look at today’s devotional passage, personally I am left with these words; we came, we liked what we saw, and we left afraid of the blessing. The spies realized the land was everything it was supposed to be. However, they could not enjoy the thought of what God was giving them because they focused on the inhabitants of the land, the giants. Do we realize often what God is doing in our lives or what he has for us is being occupied by someone else? During those times when our promised blessings are in the hands...

The Grasshopper Mentality—Day 2 Numbers 13: 25-33 The journey for the spies took forty days. On foot, they traveled from the wilderness of Zin up north and then back to Kadesh-Barnea. Kadesh means “sanctuary.” The very place where Israel was camping out was considered an oasis. This mission the spies were on was to be a reconnaissance mission, and the information gathered was to be used in their favor. They were to bring back a report on the nature of the land and its inhabitants. The spies were to also bring back a sample of the fruit that was indigenous to that area. The fruit included pomegranates and figs along with a massive cluster of grapes. The information received said the land was all it was supposed to be—good land flowing with milk and honey. God promised Israel the land, so, this fact gathering mission was not to determine if it was possible to defeat the...

The Grasshopper Mentality Numbers 13: 25-33 We begin this week’s devotional series looking at a familiar incident that allows us to see the consequences of not seeing ourselves the way God sees us. God is often calling us to accomplish a task that appears to be overwhelming and impossible to perform in our strength. However, it is important for us to remember that whatever we are called to do, no matter how difficult, the Lord never leaves us alone to figure things out on our own. Why the difficulty in submitting to what His plans are? Question: Why do we allow our fears to get the best of us? In our devotional passage, the spies were afraid. Not only did their fears get the best of them, but their fears spilled over among the rest of the people. Their fears, however, were unwarranted because God had already secured victory over the awaiting challenge. Think about that for a...