“If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? (...) We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”—Numbers 14:2b-4
He saw it coming. Every time they said, "Oh, I wish", something bad would happen. Either they'd fall in anger or writhe in disgust, then come complaining to him to fix the problem. That's not his problem: he knew God didn't send him --a lame, a killer, an ex-prince, a stutterer—to please people or to make them feel comfortable. Even God Himself knew they couldn't be comfortable without causing a ruckus! If only they could see the glory that lays ahead, then they wouldn't complain so much! He was afraid. He wanted to answer them with so-and-so, but the Boss never let him—he had to move on.
There came Joseph and Caleb, each of them carrying a bountiful of milk and honey, corn, wheat, barley, wine, melons, peppers, oranges...
They rebutted with force, saying, "No! Don't listen to them! We saw the fertile valleys and crispy seas! They're waiting for us to come! God is waiting on us to move!"
But the other spies countered, "They are way stronger than us! We don't have the weaponry, nor the smarts, nor the training...How will we beat them?"
"We can do it. We can!", Joseph and Caleb clamored.
Cannan was at their doorstep...But they couldn't reach it. All the reasons to be thankful, all the reasons to use their God-given grace for His glory...wasted. All because they felt like grasshoppers who couldn't jump their way through the door.
But please, let us not make the same mistake when our feet are inches away to the Promised Land. When we get there, we shall never feel like grasshoppers: with God, we will live as a free and thankful people.