Is it possible to live a nice, quiet life and follow God's direction? No, not really. If you are going to get things done for God, you must be aggressive. You can't stand around and be afraid of circumstances. You must act on the good report, leave all the negative circumstances behind, and declare, "This belongs to me, and I'm going to tread on it!"

If you don't act boldly on God's direction, then you will cower in fear. Wouldn't you rather make the enemy afraid of you? Tell him so. Shout it out: "Look out, devil, here I come!" Shake him up. Give HIM a headache for a change.

The Israelites were afraid to confront the enemy. The Bible "clues us in" on their thinking:

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers. And so we were in their sight.
(Num. 13:33)

The Israelites had a "grasshopper complex." You've heard of inferiority complexes. Well, the Israelites had grasshopper complexes. They looked in the mirror and saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison to the giants. Have you ever looked closely at a grasshopper? They're absolutely hideous! Why would anyone want to be compared to such ugly little creatures?

The Israelites didn't see themselves as people who could stomp around in the Promised Land and put fear into the giants of Hebron. Instead, the Israelites imagined themselves as being squashed beneath some giant's foot. Just a little green "splosh" on the plains of Hebron.

Do you know the Israelites real problem? They were looking in the wrong mirror. If they had looked into the mirror of God's Word, they could have seen themselves as giants.

When we view ourselves through God's Word, we become giants…giants for God, who take giant steps toward accomplishing his will. The spies blew it because they thought they were grasshoppers. They couldn't tread all over the land—oh, perhaps they may have been able to take a few hesitant hops—but basically the spies walked in fear. They didn't choose life nor did they take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that God had offered them.

To people in fear, everything in life is a giant. Do you fear that at any moment you may be devoured by a gigantic problem in your life? Do you view yourself as a grasshopper in the comparison to your circumstances? Then begin to view yourself only in the mirror of God's word. Soon that puny self-image will melt away and you will see yourself as a bold, mighty warrior who changes circumstances rather than yields to them.

Source: Bold Men Win by Marilyn Hickey
Excerpt permission granted by Marilyn Hickey Ministries