By
Margaret Keery
If you are curious about “grasshopper vision” let me refer to Numbers chapter 13. Moses, Israel’s great military commander had sent twelve men to spy out the new land. Reporting back, all agreed that materially it was most desirable. They brought back samples of the abundant crops, but there were formidable enemies,huge people and fenced cities (vs. 26-33). Ten scared men said to Moses, “We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (v. 33) “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” (v.31).
Now it would have been totally wrong to ignore the problems of giants in Canaan. However their vision of the 
giants was so magnified, that it obscured the vision of the promises and power of God. Instead of being Conquerers of Canaan, they became Wilderness Wanderers; the possibilities of faith were exchanged for the paralysis of unbelief.
The problem of “grasshopper vision” is that the person with it is dominated by the visable, and shortsighted, not having learned as Moses “to endure as seeing him who is invisible.”
However the remaining two spies, Joshua and Caleb, said; “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” (v. 30). Yes, they succeeded because they had a big vision of God, ”The Lord is with us: fear them not.” (14:9).
Our success in life depends on which seems largest to our eyes—the difficulty of the tasks we have to do, or the God who is able to help us to do the tasks we have to face. An old lady who was known for her patience and happiness under trial and sorrows, met a friend one day, who said, “to be as bright as you are, you must have great faith in God.” “No!” she replied, “not great faith; it is only a small faith, but it is faith in a great God.”
In fulfilling God’s will for our lives it is often our experience as Christians to fall flat on our faces in matters related to faith. It is important to remember that for faith to have any worth, it must be placed in God and if our faith is to grow, we must get better acquainted with Him.
Exercising faith in God does not mean closing our eyes to the realities and problems of life. The secret is, not to look at God through our problems, but to look at our problems through faith in our God.
A unique fact about faith is that the more we use it the greater it becomes. Sometimes we are tempted to say “I wish I had more faith!” What we really need to do is to exercise the faith we already have and as we use it, it increases. What an example of faith Joshua has set for us. He believed God’s promises and was so assured of being sustained in the pressures of life, that he tell flat—not only on his face, but on his faith!
Our fiv
e senses unlock the treasure chest of the physical realm in which we live. Faith unlocks the invisible realm. Certainly we are surrounded by giant- sized problems and seemingly impossible situations. Will we respond like the ten spies and become paralysed into inactivity through having “grasshopper vision” or will we—like the two spies (Joshua and Caleb) who saw the same situation through the eyes of faith—say, “They are bread for us” (14:9) and regard life as an opportunity tor proving God?
Doubt sees the obstacles, Faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the dark night, Faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take the step, Faith soars on high.
Doubt whispers, “Who believes?” Faith says, “I”.
