Overcoming a Grasshopper Complex, Pt. 4
This is the last article in the series Overcoming a Grasshopper Complex. The series is about our new identity in Christ and how to overcome wrong beliefs and thinking, using the passage in Numbers 13 about 12 spies. It is adapted from my book, Fulfill Your Dreams.
Twelve leaders were sent and found the land productive, just as God had promised. But ten of the twelve leaders were shaken with negativity and fear!
The Canaanites had walled cities; the Israelites were accustomed to tents. The ten spies responded to Moses by saying, “Who are we to do this?” They saw the walled cities and concluded they couldn’t do what God asked.
The result, “… we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Num. 13:33 NKJV
Even the truth and facts did not matter when they saw themselves as small! They looked at how big the obstacles were instead of how big God is!
The Grasshopper Complex occurs when we see ourselves as unable to move forward in our purpose and destiny because of our wrong identity, past experiences, and present circumstances.
Why did the spies succumb to the Grasshopper Complex?
The failure of the children of Israel to partner with God and possess the land of Canaan was due primarily to characteristics that formed strongholds of unbelief and fear in their minds. Namely:
False identity, Negative thinking, Fear of transition, Failure to recognize God’s will.
False Identity
“… we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Num. 13:33 NKJV
Their false identity created unbelief about the truth of their situation. Wrong identity fuels negativity, fear, and unbelief.
In Christ, we have a new identity: a heavenly identity and a new family lineage through faith in Jesus. We are born from above now and adopted into God’s family.
In Christ, we are no longer fearful slaves. But we are adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus. Our past does not define us!
Jesus defines us! His cross and resurrection shape us and our future. We are no longer tied to our past but free in Christ to live new lives filled with hope and purpose.
He gave us His Spirit to aid and empower us. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Heaven’s resources are available!
SOLUTION: To overcome wrong identity, see yourself as God sees you in Christ. How you see yourself matters—your future depends on your correct identity in Christ.
Negative Thinking
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” Num. 13:31 NKJV
The spies thought of more reasons why they couldn’t do it than why they could. Negativity breeds skepticism about God’s promises.
When we succumb to negative thinking, we will find excuses not to move forward in God’s promise. Negativity creates a dark cloud of doubt and skepticism. Faith breeds optimism. Negative thinking distorts and hinders the faith-filled perspective required to receive God’s promise.
God’s promises, whether in His written Word or spoken to you, are invitations to realize your future. Faith builds a foundation of hope that realizes the promise; negativity erodes the foundation of the promise.
Can you recall a time when you were negative, and it hindered you from receiving a promise from God?
SOLUTION: Choose to live optimistically. Have a positive rather than negative approach to life! See from God’s perspective. He knows the end from the beginning!
Negativity will rob you of the faith and courage to appropriate God’s promises and realize your dreams. Do not allow negative attitudes, words, or ungodly beliefs to make you a pessimist.
Prov. 23:7 states, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” NKJV
Let the words of your mouth be life-giving; they have creative power.
For the “power of death and life are in the tongue.” Prov. 18:21 NKJV
Take your mind off negative thinking and disempower it. Live in your new identity and see yourself as an overcomer in Christ. Remaining positive in challenging situations requires a mind fixed upon Christ. When we are fixed upon Jesus, it is easier to confess words of life that will keep us anchored in His peace and faith.
Part of your positive confession is maintaining a heart of gratitude and thanking God daily for your blessings. As you choose to live in thanksgiving, your attitude will improve, and you will be more optimistic.
Paul says, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you…” 1 Thess. 5:18 NKJV
Gratitude creates an avenue for God’s grace to strengthen you in life’s journey.
Don’t allow negative attitudes and ungodly beliefs to cause you to be pessimistic rather than optimistic. Do not lose the race before you have run it!
Determine each day to let God display His power in your situations. Choose to believe God for the breakthrough! Nothing is impossible with Him!
The things that are impossible with man are possible with God! Luke 1:37 NKJV
Also, learn to encourage others, and you will encourage yourself! One of the most persistent problems in the church is discouragement. Encourage others, or they may lose hope, fall into mediocrity, or even quit the race.
Paul wrote that God:
“comforts us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Cor. 1:4 NKJV
As we encourage others, we are strengthened (Heb. 10:25).
God expects us to use life’s afflictions and His comfort to encourage others. Have you found this to be true?
Fear of Transition
And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.” Num. 14:2-4 NKJV
When faced with the challenge ahead, the nation of Israel wanted to return to Egypt and the “familiar.”
If you doubt God’s ability to bring you through the transition, you will always long for the familiar. Let’s be honest: Most of us do not like change, but change is inevitable to realize God-sized promises and dreams.
SOLUTION: Courageous faith in God is required to navigate transitions successfully. Courageous faith develops as you cultivate an intimate relationship with him.
An unrenewed mind always desires familiar patterns over the walk of faith.
However, the “just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17 NKJV).
Former lifestyles are appealing to those who still live as slaves. New territory is for sons and daughters who walk with God faithfully.
People who have not experienced God’s power often struggle between their faith in God and a desire to return to the familiar. Double-mindedness hinders faith and empowers fear (James 1:8).
Trust God to overcome the problems in your life.
Jesus has defeated every enemy through his death and resurrection. Jesus already conquered on the cross every spiritual power we will ever face.
“Having disarmed principalities and powers … triumphing over them in it.” Col. 2:15 NKJV
You are united with Christ in His ascension and partake in His victory over every work of the enemy. The Father adopted you, and His love for you has no limits.
As His child, He promises to care for you. You can trust God’s miraculous power and rest in the finished work of Christ. If the children of Israel had believed God’s word, they would have known the land of Canaan was already theirs (Num.13:2; Jos. 1:3).
Learn to rely on what God has promised in His Word.
The unrenewed mind will ask God for a breakthrough He has already promised. Those with an unrenewed mind strive for something God has already given us as inheritance.
Start with what is troubling you most at this moment! Face problems directly by giving them to God. What are you facing:
Health problems, Finances, Debt, Marriage, Relationships, Addictions, Sin, Fear, or the Future? 1 Pet. 5:7, we are to “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (NKJV)
Trust God to remove the obstacles before you; nothing is impossible with Him!
Know that God is with you always and include Him in all areas of your life. God wants to control all areas of our lives, so turn the “reins” over to Him! Let go and let God into all areas of your life!
Failure to Recognize the Will of God
But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and attacked them, and drove them back as far as Hormah. Num. 14:44-45 NKJV
After the Israelites had refused God’s invitation to inherit the land, they acted according to their own will by attempting to conquer the land. They moved outside of the will of God and were defeated by their enemies.
SOLUTION: You must live in a close relationship with the Father to know His will and avoid the pitfall of acting on your plans. The good can be the enemy of the best. Jesus only did what he saw the Father do.
You can put your hand on many good Christian activities, but what is God asking you to do?
Do not be distracted by the good; wait on God to reveal his best for you, and then move forward confidently.
We must stay intimate with the Father to know His will and only do His will. Obedience is better than sacrifice!
Final Thoughts
All these disastrous consequences occurred because ten men looked at themselves and concluded they could not overcome the land’s inhabitants.
God was frustrated with them because they did not compare the cities and giants with God, only with themselves!
“But without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Heb. 11:6 NKJV
A Christian who does not trust God for problems as they arise will magnify their difficulties.
Facts are subject to change; faith does not ignore the facts but declares that, with God, all things are possible.
A mind cluttered with distorted facts seldom sees clearly with the eye of faith. However, the believer with a renewed identity and transformed mind sees the breakthrough spiritually before it occurs naturally.
God will put us in situations that are too much for us so that we will learn that no situation is too much for Him! Goliath was stronger than David, the Midianites were stronger than Gideon, and the storm on the Sea of Galilee was beyond the disciples’ control!
