CONSIDER THE LUBBER GRASSHOPPER
by Julie Lavender
On my walk with God this morning, I saw a large grasshopper that I first thought was injured. He walked so laboriously, deliberately and slowly that, from a distance, I thought it must be hurt. A few steps more and I could see its size and then even closer, I realized it was a lubber grasshopper.
Large and clumsy...
Lubber grasshoppers are much larger than others in the same family. They can’t fly like other grasshoppers and can only jump short distances. Their name comes from an old English word that means clumsy or lazy.
... but not so tasty
But
God had a plan to prevent the slow-moving, awkward-walking grasshoppers from
being devoured by birds and other animals. God gave it a really nasty taste,
apparently, not that I’ve sampled one. John the Baptist can have those locusts
– I think I would’ve starved.
God,
in His infinite wisdom, painted the lubber grasshoppers with warning signs of
their foul taste, so the fowls would avoid them. If the red, yellow, and black
markings fail to deter the mammal or bird, the predator will get a nasty surprise.
The
men, however, were afraid and didn’t trust God to take care of them. All but
two made up false stories about the land that included tales of people so large
that the giants made the people of Israel look like small grasshoppers.
What's wrong with those Israelites?
Why in the world didn’t the Israelites realize – especially that point in their time with the Lord – that He had a plan? That He would take care of them? That he had all the details worked out? Why, oh why could they not recognize that about God?
The same thing that's wrong with me.....!!!!
Well….for the very same reason that I forget what miracles God’s performed in my life in the past and can’t seem to trust Him to take care of a new problem I have. Like, a job for my third child who’s almost finished with his Masters Degree but doesn’t have employment lined up just yet.
Didn’t
God provide amazing jobs for my first and second child when they finished
college? Why do I feel that it’s MY job right now to agonize and fret over the
lack of future employment when I should know that God has a plan for my son
that’s better than anything I’ve ever dreamed of!
Or,
my worries for a dear friend who just recently found out the buyer backed out
on the house deal they so desperately needed to take place. Didn’t God help my friends
sell their house twenty years ago, when she had cancer and needed to downsize
to help them financially?
God has a plan ..... always!
God has a plan for my friends. And my son. And extended family members. And me. Just like he does for the little grasshopper or the big, clumsy one or the bird that needs a tasty morsel of sustenance, not a yucky-tasting one.
God always has a plan. And, today, he reminded me of that on my walk when I spotted an awkward lubber grasshopper with warning colors painted on its body.
And that plan
is always best
God’s plans are always best and always beautiful. Sometimes, it just takes longer for me to realize that when my walk with God is clumsy and awkward. But I’m glad for the times when my walk with Him is based on trust that results in flying and leaping!
What about you? Did you get a reminder from God on your walk with Him this week? And are you leaping or lumbering this week? For me, the week is young….I’ve already taken a few leaps and stumbled a few times, too!!
Share your comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
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