GRAPES, GIANTS & GRASSHOPPERS
How long do you think it would take you to walk from Melbourne to Sydney? Or Melbourne to Adelaide? Why?! Because both of those destinations are within the approximate range of distance from where the Promised Land is and the starting point of the exodus of Gods people.
All up its an 11-day trip, 125 hours of walking at a regular pace or 7500 minutes!
Yet as we know, this trip took the Israelites 40 years to make because of their unwillingness to trust God with their future.
Numbers 13:26 opens up and they are practically there at the promised land. They are pretty much on its doorstep. It has been a long time coming, but thanks to God for not giving up on them – they have finally made it! Suddenly reality sets in though, there are already people living there, in the land God promised to them. And to claim it as their own, they’ll have to fight for it. The problem was, most of them weren’t up for a fight and they became stuck in their own fear and uncertainty of the future.
It’s always a possibility to get ‘stuck’ in fear when faced with uncertainty. And good things never come without a fight, but what we can learn from this biblical history, is that we can look to the future – challenges & all – with complete trust that God delivers on His promises. Always.
SCRIPTURE Message translation Numbers 13:26-33 They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:
“We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well-fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”
Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”
But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumours among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallow’s people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”
GOD HAS GRAPES FOR YOU, BUT THERE ARE GIANTS AND GRASSHOPPERS TO BE DEFEATED
When the spies return from their land exploration, the majority confirm the people’s worst fears. Ten of the twelve report numerous obstacles to overcome. The people who occupy the land are strong, and their cities are well protected. As far as the spies are concerned, the people of God are simply inferior to the opposition. They say, “we felt like grasshoppers in a land of giants.” Their conclusion is it can’t be done. How discouraging!
DISCUSSION
- What do we do when we face uncertainty of tomorrow? Or when we face challenges and obstacles? Are we inclined to think of the worst-case scenarios? Do we exaggerate or magnify the problems? Discuss above questions as a group and share challenges you have faced and overcome or share about one you are facing now.
- What grapes (Gods promises) are you needing now? For some it could be a relationship, financial provision, healing, family restoration. What is the one right next step you can take towards this promise?
WE NEED TO THINK BIG, DREAM BIG, ASK BIG.
DON’T LIVE IN THE PAST. GOD HAS BIGGER THINGS FOR YOU!
God is in our future waiting for us to catch up!
When we focus on what could go wrong, all we end up thinking about is failing or being squashed by our giant!
Fast forward to Numbers 14:20 and we see that none of those who were afraid to go to the Promised Land ever entered! Not one! Only their children and their children’s children lived to see the dream come true.
Think of a time you’ve taken a wrong turn and ended up somewhere completely different to where you intended. Do you decide in that moment, oh well, I guess I’ll just have to live here forever now?! I doubt it! And why not? Because even though we know we’ve ended up in a place different to where we had intended, we know too, that unless we get back on the road and keep going (in the right direction!) we’ll never arrive at our destination. If we’re going to live unstuck and, in the promises God has already prepared for us, we must learn to live with the uncertainties of life, overcome our fears, defeat the giants, and squish the grasshoppers! In times of pressure, God strengthens us to keep moving. We need to be determined to believe Gods vision, no matter what obstacle comes our way.
DISCUSSION & REFLECTION
- Are you afraid of the future? Giants and grasshoppers will look different for each of us. Giants can look like fearing the current economy we live in, the cost and sacrifice of a spiritually disciplined life, living in the past, getting stuck in disappointments life can throw at us. Grasshoppers can be that we trust in our own feelings and perspective over what God says. How can these things stop us from Gods promised future for us?
- To take our grapes, we will always face giants and grasshoppers. How can we continue to live focused and not get stuck when the going gets tough? How can we get stronger from overcoming our giants and grasshoppers? Share an area you have grown stronger or wiser in by overcoming and changing your perspective to a God perspective.
- Proverbs 29:18 says that without a vision, people perish. What is your God vision? God has a future planned & purposed for you. Take time to reflect on this during the week and write out your God vision.
- Pray for each other and encourage each other that our giants time is limited, but Gods promises to us are eternal!