Are you a Grasshopper or a Giant Killer? Part 2

Problem with FACTS

Problem: We tend to confuse the facts

Grasshoppers confuse the facts. Numbers 13:26,32

²⁶ The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ They reported to Moses: "We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit.

³² So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: "The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size.

When something happens to us in life we tend to be like those who said they felt as though they were grasshoppers. We often confuse the facts. In verse 26 of chapter 13, the spies agreed that the land was flowing with milk and honey, but by verse 32, they were giving a negative report on the land, not just its inhabitants.

We do the same thing. When things look bad, instead of focusing on the good, we tend to bring the good down to the level of the bad. We confuse the facts. If we want to kill giants in our lives, we need to avoid this pitfall. How do we do it? We need to follow Joshua and Caleb.

Solution: Speak the Truth

Giant killers speak the truth Numbers 13:30; 14:7

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, "We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!"

⁶ Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes ⁷ and said to the entire Israelite community: "The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. ^(A)

Although Joshua and Caleb saw the same things that the other spies saw, they stuck to the truth. Did they see the giants? Yes, but they saw the land as good enough to risk fighting the giants. In the chapter 14 verses they are repeating the truth that the land is extremely good!

When problems come into your life, we don’t need to ignore them, but we don’t need to make them bigger than they are, either. We too often confuse the facts and end up acting like grasshoppers amidst the giants.