June 2006

“Are You Feeling Like A Grasshopper?”

This years graduation has brought many young people face to face with a sometimes scary part of life, the future. Graduations have a way of bringing us to that great emotion of fear. Yes, all of us, if we are honest have walked the path of pomp and circumstance, fearful of what the next steps would bring. Hoping that what we have accomplished has somehow prepared us for what will come next.

Fearing the future can be a good thing. It has a way of humbling us because we are faced with the fact that we are not in control. This can lead us to a greater dependency on God.

A long time ago there was a group of Hebrew people that were in a graduation of sorts. They were waiting to enter the promised land, a whole new chapter in their lives. The twelve spies who had been sent into the Land of Canaan had just returned from the land of milk and honey. Numbers 13 tells us this profound story. Ten men gave a fear-filled report. They told of the terrifying feeling of appearing like grasshoppers among the giant-like people. For them the future looked bleak. Two men, came to another conclusion. They reported, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." For these two men the future was a God directed opportunity.

This graduation ceremony ended badly; nobody graduated. The fear of the future sent everyone back to the desert classroom. The difference between the two reports was that Caleb and Joshua remembered that God had promised the land to them and that he would be with them. They knew they were in God's will and were ready to walk by faith, one step at a time. They knew that God would walk with them.

Are you kind of queasy about the future? Do the next steps in life seem too big to take? Does the land you are moving into seem filled with giants? Then take heart in the one who can give you the strength to move forward! Our hope for the future is not in ourselves and our abilities, or even in our God given gifts. Our future is in the hands of a faithful and unchanging God.

Remember the encouragement of Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." (NKJV)

As you look to the future, move forward in faith, trusting that God is with you. If you aren't sure how to take that first step of faith and trust, stop by the office, I would love to talk with you.

Have a great summer.

Pastor Craig B. Johnson