"The land we explored will swallow up any who go to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there…we felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that's what we looked like to them!" Numbers 13:32-33
Many days I feel like such a grasshopper (my husband might agree that I look like one sometimes, too…more later).
For me, grasshopper days all started with my journey of faith from Egypt to the Promised Land. You know, Egypt—that crushing place of bondage to sin, Satan's lies, and the enticements of the world. Had I stayed in Egypt, it surely would have been the death of me—death of my hopes, dreams, peace, and purpose (these are the Promised Land of the Christian life here in this life). And so in His great love, God came down with signs and wonders, showing me the way out…the way to move toward promise and freedom in Him.
Looking back on my journey, I've encountered many Red Seas and many Giants along the way. Both are equally terrifying, but also different.
Red Seas: These are the tests of faith that God leads us to where we have no choice but to trust Him to deliver us. There are no other options or Plan B's. Life is out of our control. We are walled in on every side, and nothing and no one can save us but an act of God.
God delights in Red Seas. It gives Him a chance to show His stuff and to remind us why He's God and why we're not, and why we can't put our trust in anything else for the answers or for hope in life. These are the places where we have the opportunity to learn who He is and how big He is if we will not be too thick-skulled, obstinate, and unbelieving to get it. Sometimes the Red Seas of our lives are small ones that could easily be dismissed as "a stroke of good luck." Other times they are huge, monumental miracles in our lives when we get to see walls of water stretching up beyond our vision while we walk through on dry ground.
Giants: These are the tests God leads us to where He asks us to look back at the Red Seas to remember His power and faithfulness, and to choose to believe despite massive odds. These are tests we have a choice about, where God asks us to do something we can't do on our own or to go where we could never go, or to attempt the impossible in Him.
God delights in sending giants. Through this avenue, He offers a new level of relationship with His children where they can respond to Him in faith, or miss out on the adventure. Facing giants takes our lives from nothing special to making history, because everyone who takes on giants makes history—or at least His-story. People who don't take risks for God NEVER make history.
Bill Bright (Campus Crusade) was a person who knew about facing giants and taking risks. On his desk he had a little plaque to always remind him Who delivers him from his giants. The plaque read: "I am no grasshopper."
I've been in giant territory for the past 10 years, and it has been a test of faith all the way. God has asked me to step out in ministry in so many ways that are beyond me—ways a mile out of my comfort zone—writing, speaking, and teaching. I can never look too far ahead or I get totally freaked out (these are the days my husband says I look like a grasshopper). In fact, some days I give in to paralyzing fear and my faith monitor looks more like a heart monitor.
All this is to say that faith is definitely a journey, one that is still in process in me. But I want to beat the giants. I want to live the adventure, to fully learn who God is, and to go down in His-Story. To do this, I just have to keep my eyes on Jesus and slay one giant at a time. And you know what? He's never let me down. I don't expect Him to either because…