What if it’s not your circumstances that are defeating you, it’s what you tell yourself about your circumstances. What if the thing that harms you the most isn’t what anyone else does to you, but what you do to you. You defeat you. You harm you. You dismiss you. And you do it by disbelieving who you really are.

Listen to me, my sister, this isn’t about you showing up perfect and proving you can. This isn’t about you always getting it right. This isn’t about you knowing precisely what you’re doing and doing it without a flaw. If it is, you will fail. Over and over again, you’re going to screw this up.

Instead, this is about the power of God dwelling within you. This is about showing up where God has placed you, to do what God has called you to do. This is about battles that are bigger than you, being won through your faith. This is about believing God’s promises and boldly walking in those promises like he’s making you good enough.

But the greatest battle we fight is inside of us. Within our mind, we win or we lose. We either believe God’s unstoppable power is working within us, or we believe we carry the weight on our shoulders and we’re simply not strong enough. When you choose to believe it’s all you, overwhelm quickly sets in and you back down. But, my sister, what if you’ve been backing down from battles you’re already guaranteed to win? What if doors have already been opened, but you’ve been dismissing yourself from even walking down the hallways to see them?

God wants to work on your mindset. What do you believe about you? How do you see yourself? What are the stories you tell yourself. There’s one thing for sure, those stories you tell yourself have been impacting your life far more than your actual circumstances. You’ve done more harm to you than anyone else, and you did it all in your head. But God loves you entirely too much to sit back and watch you continue to dismiss yourself from your destiny.

Scripture tells us a story of 12 men sent into the land of Canaan by Moses. These 12 men were spies, sent to scout out this beautiful and bountiful land Moses and the Israelites desired. They left the wilderness where they had been hiding, and snuck into Canaan. What they found there was everything they were lacking in their desert wilderness. Food growing. Water flowing. Animals roaming. People thriving. It was a paradise. And this paradise was meant for them!

Have you ever seen something so good, you wondered if it could possibly be meant for you? Have you ever wanted something better, but questioned if you were good enough to claim it? Have you noticed the little voice that talks to you when there’s more right in front of you? What does that voice say? That voice has been stealing your promises for years, it’s time you take notice.

The 12 spies return from visiting the bountiful and blessed land of Canaan, and give their report. In Numbers 13: 31-33, ten of the spies spread negativity and fear saying, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are! The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants (they’re exaggerating), and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.” Then the whole community broke into loud cries and the people wept that night.

This is a classic case of what you tell yourself about your circumstances being worse than your actual circumstances. Yes, exaggerating the negative creating dreadful overwhelm. The truth was, this land was wonderful. It wasn’t a land that devoured people. That was in their heads! They weren’t like tiny grasshoppers either, that was also in their head. And because they didn’t check the stories in their head with the promises of God, their fears became greater than their faith. And their fears spread to the people, making everyone cry.

Sister, your fears aren’t just affecting you. They are creating fear in those around you too. You’re infecting others with the nonsense stories you’ve allowed to grow in your head.

Maybe you’re living a life of fear that didn’t even originate with you. Someone else’s fears were handed down to you, now those fears fill your thoughts. Are you going to just let that continue? Are you going to let your mama’s negative, fear filled thoughts steal your promises? Maybe it wasn’t your mama, maybe it was your negative friend, your fear filled husband, or the garbage you hear on TV. Are you going to continue to pass that down in your family? Is that the legacy you want?

Here’s the question: Are you willing to miss what God has available for you because of your own misguided beliefs about yourself?

Moses and the Israelites were not grasshoppers. These were people who had miraculously walked through a parted Red Sea. These were people who had been divinely guided by a pillar of clouds by day and a pillar of fire by night. These were chosen and rescued people. People with promises over their destiny. But 10 men who came back with fear filled negativity caused them to give up on their journey.

This is what a grasshopper mindset does to us. Believing you are stuck and incapable of change does nothing but dig your hole deeper. Talking about your insecurities and accepting them as your truth does nothing but teach others to do the same. Then we’re just a bunch of stuck girls, living in deep holes of despair, missing out on the promises God has for us. Is that what we’re going to settle for? Is that okay with you?

I say NO! No, we are not grasshoppers. We are not tiny, inferior, incapable girls stuck in the wilderness of nowhere. We are on our way! The way may not be easy, but dang it, we’re moving forward! We’re carrying the power of God within us, and we don’t have to back down to anything! We will go where God says we can go. We will do what God says we can do. We will live how God says we can live. And no giants will stand in our way or discourage us!

Of the 12 spies who witnessed the promised land of Canaan, 10 spread reports of fear and negativity from their grasshopper mindset. But 2 … well 2 came back with a different report. 2 saw themselves as chosen champions in the battle ahead. Those 2 were Joshua and Caleb. When they saw the Israelites backing down in fear, they said in Numbers 13: 7-9, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”

Now, let me tell you the end of the story … The people listened to the 10 negative reports over the 2 positive, so they stayed stuck in their wilderness and lived in fear. They didn’t move forward. For 40 years, they were stuck because they stopped. Stopped when God said go. Stopped when the way had been made. Stopped because of the stories they believed over the promises they had received. There were only 2 of this entire generation that were granted the blessing of living in the promised land of Canaan. Guess what 2 it was? Joshua and Caleb. The 2 who believed God’s promises. The 2 who fought for God’s promises. The 2 who refused the offering of the grasshopper mindset. The 2 who wouldn’t settle for less because it was easier.

Numbers 14: 37-38, “Those men who spread the negative report about the land were struck down by the Lord. Only Joshua and Caleb remained alive of those who went to scout the land.”

The difference between these 2 and the other 10 was simply the stories they believed about themselves. They believed if God was for them, then nothing could be against them. They believed they could do anything through the power of God. They believed if God promised it, God would deliver it. AND THEY WERE RIGHT!

You are right to believe God is for you in this. You are right to believe God is bigger than this. You are right to believe God’s power is within you and strengthens you to do what you could never do on your own. You are right to believe every one of God’s promises are for you. You are right to believe God will do it!

Now, God is asking you what stories you will believe. He’s asking you what report you will share.

I’ve decided I will be like Joshua and Caleb, and tell you this:

Where God is leading us is extremely good. If we trust him, if we follow him, if we remain faithful, he will graciously strengthen us for every battle and pour out his blessings on us. We have absolutely nothing to be afraid of! God is with us and we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength!

And “all” includes this! You can do this today! Move forward!

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