Danielle Macaulay is back today with part 2 of “Grasshoppers and Giants.”
Check out Danielle’s new Bible Study, The Get Along Guide, available now at Amazon.com (affil link)
Today’s Scattered Seeds
You may have heard of some folks called the Israelites. They were famous for being cranky and hungry while stuck in a desert for waaaay too long. But, God told them they would make it out and into an abundant place. Canaan, the land that God had promised to them, had everything they dreamed of – a far cry from their current living conditions. They needed to get there, and fast! In order to take that land for themselves, conquering current inhabitants was required. A couple handfuls of men were sent to stake out the land and see what they were up against. What the scouters found was not good news. The place was teeming with what seemed like giants to them – healthy and strong men who lived in fortified towns, all while they had been reduced to eating a few fish and nibbles of bread while wandering in circles. A man named Joshua seemed confident that they could still succeed in their mission, but when he suggested to go “take the land”, but he discovered that the others had already come to their own conclusions:
“They are stronger than we are…Next to them, we felt like grasshoppers…Let’s just turn around and go back into the desert.” (Numbers 13)
They did it too – just like we so often do, they stacked themselves up to other people and it deflated and defeated them. As soon as they decided that they didn’t measure up, they called it quits and were ready to walk away from all that God had planned for them. Their comparison conquered them before any giant could.
How about you? Have you let comparison keep you from your “Promised Land”?
Have you thrown in the towel, because next to “her” you just didn’t measure up?
Who are you wasting too much brain power on? What is distracting your gaze?
There were two men who didn’t give up, though. One of them was Joshua. He was confident in the Lord’s capabilities, despite his shortcomings, so he chose to believe in God’s promises. And, I think I know why. Rewind back many many years to when Joshua spent time in the presence of the Lord. Exodus 33:11 tells us that each night Joshua stayed in the tent where the presence of God was… and he stayed quite a while. In that lingering is where Joshua learned who God was, and who He created Joshua to be. Joshua fixed his attention on God, and there his identity was formed. It was there that his confidence and his faith grew bigger than the Canaanites. In the face of the giants, Joshua knew who he was, and he was no grasshopper.
Lovely lady, you are God’s chosen one. He thinks you are the fairest of them all. Don’t let the mirror tell you anything else. Another woman’s looks, abilities, book smarts, family upbringing, position… none of that will ever negate and nullify the person that God created you to be and the specific goals He’s planned for you. Do not look to the left or right. Stop peering over at others. Resist scoping out the competition. Don’t let the giants intimidate you or keep you from receiving what God has to give. Cling to the One who defeats giants and live in your own Promised Land.
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Tilling the Soil
Read the song the Israelite women sang about Saul and David in 1 Samuel 18:7. Sometimes we do the comparing and sometimes other people do it for us. It is important that we spend more time listening to our Heavenly Father than what the World around us has to say about us. Take a moment to do that right now! Your God confidence will keep you from feeling the need to tower over others, or cower under them.
Planting Hope
When they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (2 Corinthians 10:12b)
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Danielle Macaulay is an author, blogger, speaker and television personality on the marriage television show “A Better Us” (abetterus.tv). She is passionate about her marriage to her husband, recording artist Dan Macaulay (danmacaulay.com), her two young boys, Keaton and Braden, and about helping women grow in their faith (she isn’t afraid to admit she’s also passionate about donuts, Hallmark movies and the spa). She provides regular nourishment for both your body and soul at her popular blog spot frommilktomeat.com and offers families spiritual nourishment and kid friendly recipes in her children’s meal time devotional, “Table Talk: Family Dinner Devos.” Her passion project is her newest release, “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?!”, a book that encourages and challenges women towards unity.