I am not a grasshopper.

“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 (the desvendants of the Anak come from the Nephilim).  We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.’” - Num 13:31-33

God had promised the land of Canaan to Israel.  He promised it to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses.  But even after this long standing promise and just 2 years and 3 months after the Exodus they had forgotten the power of God and fear prevented them from moving forward.  When they saw the people in the land they declared, “We seemed like grasshoppers.”

When I was given a tour of Campus Crusade they showed me Bill Bright’s office (the founder of Campus).  On his desk was a plaque that said “I am not a grasshopper.”  It was a reference to this passage in Numbers.  The idea was that because the infinite, glorious, everlasting King of the Universe who delivered Israel from Egypt with a mighty hand and great wonders was with him, he would not look like a grasshopper in his own eyes or anyone else’s.

Take heart, friends.  The Almighty King of Glory is with you.  You are not a grasshopper.

Am I who I am and do I do what I do because of the circumstances around me or the character of God?

There is an incredible story in Acts 4.  Peter and John were incarcerated and persecuted for speaking about Jesus, and upon their release the church prayed together.

·      “Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them…”

When we go through straining situations or troubling transitions our prayers often begin with, “Where are you God?”  But when Peter and John went through prison their prayer was, “God, you are in control.”  This causes us to ask a pretty profound question:

·      Am I who I am and do I do what I do because of the circumstances around me or the character of God?

Too often our circumstances dictate who we are.  At Wheaton, I am hard-working college student.  At home, I am a fun-loving friend.  With friends, I am passionate about the Gospel.  When expectations are not met, I am grumpy. When people don’t understand my passions, I am quiet about the truth.  When my context is new, I am insecure.  When suffering is all around, I am overwhelmed.

But what if, in every circumstance, we were because of and we acted out of God’s character.  At Wheaton, I seek after the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth.  At home, I press on toward the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.  With friends, I reflect the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.  When expectations are not met, I hope in the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.  When people don’t understand my passions, I glorify the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth. When my context is new, I rest in the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.  When suffering is all around, I serve the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.

He is good, and He is in control.  And I’ve learned from my semesters off that sometimes you have to live in the suck of a situation.  But in the midst of it we must continue the affirm that He is the Sovereign Lord who made the heaven and earth.  And as we do so that truth will become more and more foundational to who we are.