Faith among grasshopper hearts

Seeing God's GOOD.

Our next series is going to be taking a look at the life of Joshua. Joshua had Moses' big shoes to step in to and he had the task of taking the Israelites into the Promised Land. If Moses had to help the Israelites to transition from Slaves to Pilgrims, Joshua had to help them move from being Pilgrims to Pioneers. This series will pick up some of the lessons from Joshua's life.
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We first meet Joshua when Moses sends 12 spies into the Promised Land. Ten of the spies came back very negative and cynical. They saw only danger and difficulty. They were intimidated by the fortified cites, the fierce warriors and the number of giants in the land. Their closing comment was "We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

When the people succumbed to the horror stories of the 10 spies, there were two spies who were horrified. So horrified that they ripped their clothes.

Their names were Caleb and Joshua. They refused to have grasshopper hearts. They trusted God and believed in God's goodness. While there were fortified cities and giants in the land, they also saw the goodness of the land. They used words like "exceedingly good" and "flowing with milk and honey". Do you see the abundance mentality they display?

Not only did they believe that the land was good, they believed that God is good. They believed that God would lead them into this abundant land and that, with His help, they would swallow up their enemies who had no protection because God was with Israel.

When we face our challenges and difficulties, it is easy to succumb to "grasshopper fears." When we look harder for God's GOOD we will see amazing things. We will see great good, beauty and opportunity woven into our challenges and we will see that God is with us and that He is good.

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." (Numbers14:6-9)