Different people look at life differently.
Elbert Hubbard defines life as “the interval between the time your teeth are almost through, and the time you are almost through with your teeth!”
However, there are some who look at life as a journey. And on the way, there are kilometer posts to tell you where you are, and what you have accomplished so far. It also gives directions to where you want to go.
Graduation is one of those kilometer posts. It tells you what you have accomplished, and where you are going.
Others see this journey as an adventure, dramatic and exciting. In this journey, one can be on the mountaintop celebrating and rejoicing. Other times, you go through rough places along the trail, deep valleys, hard climbs, and sometimes long, dark nights through which one must grope onward.
Some give up. Others try harder.
The passage in Numbers Chapter 13 is part of the story of the Hebrews as they were in Kadesh-Barnea, near the land which God had promised to them. Everything was okay as they prepared to go to the Promised Land. Moses picked a man from each of the 12 “tribes” of Israel to go to the Promised Land to spy.
After several days, the 12 men returned from their scouting trip, and made their report. All 12 of the spies agreed that the land was rich, “flowing with milk and honey”. They agreed also that the people who lived in that land were strong, and that the cities were well-fortified. They were unanimous in their findings that the land was highly-desirable but strongly- defended.
When it came, however, to the recommendation for action, there was a difference of opinion among them. Ten of the spies said, “We are not able to go up against these people. They are giants and are stronger than us.“ And they said, “We seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers.”
When the people heard the report of the 10 spies, it is said that all night they wept, many making a clamor to return to Egypt. Later, they did not go back to Egypt, but they did turn south from there into the wilderness where for about 40 years they wandered as nomads in the wastelands of the Sinai Peninsula — all because they saw themselves as grasshoppers!
For the graduates, I know you may be anxious. We have heard there are not too many jobs available. Economy is not doing well. If we get a job, “Can we really do it? Are we adequate enough?”
When you start questioning yourself and thinking of yourselves as grasshoppers, remember this story in the book of Numbers.
The story in Numbers tells us that not all of the spies were discouraged. Two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, felt differently from the other 10 spies. Their report went something like this: “Yes, the people in that land are big and strong, but we do not see ourselves as grasshoppers: for we are God’s people. And if God is with us, we are well able to take that land. Let us, therefore, go there without delay.”
The difference between the minority report and the majority was not in the facts that they gathered. The difference was in how they saw themselves and their relationship with God.
Looking at the same situation, the same objective data, 10 men were scared and immobilized by fear. But the two men said, “We are well able to overcome because God is with us.”
Caleb and Joshua saw something the others did not see. They believed in themselves, they believed in others, but most of all, they believed in God.
I pray that as you, the graduates, move on with your lives, look at yourselves not only as people with special gifts, but like Caleb and Joshua, you have something more.
You are willing to face the future with courage because you have faith in yourselves, as well as faith in a powerful God.
As people of God, we believe in a God who equips us and goes with us. Caleb and Joshua knew this. The truth is said so well in Isaiah 41:10 where God gave this promise: “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, and I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
When God says, “I will strengthen you,” God will be there to lift us when we fall, and sustain us when we get discouraged. When God says, “My love for you is steadfast”, God’s love will be there even when we go to the depths of hell.
One writer has used the analogy of an albatross. He notes that the albatross has the longest wingspan of any living bird: 12 feet. He also notes that it is too heavy to fly — it can’t support itself in the air. In fact, in still air, it can’t even take off. Yet, the albatross is a marathon flier. Some speculate it can stay years at sea without returning to land.
How can a bird too heavy to support itself be a marathon flier? The answer: It doesn’t flap. It glides. It is a master at riding the winds. It knows that slightly higher, the faster air currents provide greater speed. Then it dives, letting gravity give acceleration. Then it catches an updraft off the waves, and the cycle starts all over again. The albatross not only survives winds of almost any force at sea, but it is not even blown off course. It can ride out the storms by reading the winds and circling. Then when calm returns, it continues on its way.
If we could ride the winds of God’s Spirit, we could accomplish far more than we think possible. The source of our power is God’s Spirit. Thus, as you graduates move on to follow your dreams, remember, “The future is God’s gift to you. God will not leave you. If you stumble, God will lift you up. In your success, God will be there to celebrate with you. Go out into the world with power and courage.
