I regret we have to get rescued so often before we’ll believe that God is for us. I think we get too accustomed to knowing how things go—what the “natural result” should be. It’s called sanity. Stepping out too far may be “stepping over the line” Problem is, we forget that God actually has our welfare in mind. 1 Peter 2:9 in The King James, says we are a peculiar people. You can take “peculiar” anywhere you want. But in most other translations (at least the ones I have) it is translated “possession of God.” ...or words to that effect. That statement ought to mean something to us. It does to Kenny Lane. Here’s his story.

THE GRASSHOPPER SAGA

Some people might think it's nonsense or cheating, like breaking into a line, But when I want something important, I'll pray about it. I wouldn't do it if I didn't get help. Occasionally the results are miraculous.

This is one of those miraculous results.

I'm a small contractor, accustomed to small jobs. I'm small in stature and my fortunes have always been pretty insignificant. A good example of me comes from the Biblical account of the people of Israel. God commanded them to possess the land of their enemies. However. their spies reported that these people were so big that, along side them, they felt like grasshoppers. That ended the matter. They failed because of their grasshopper mentality.

That was me. Compared to the big boys I was a grasshopper.

On this occasion there was a hotel I really wanted to build. I had managed to get a 9:30 AM meeting with the corporate chief. I asked God to give a favorable outcome to that meeting. The answer surprised me.

The Lord said, “I want you to plan on having lunch with him.”

So, like the Israelites I answered, “How am I going to upgrade from a 9:30 meeting to lunch. This man is just going to say Hi to me.” So, I went to the building with my grasshopper attitude. It really overtook me, and I couldn't get rid of it.

I walked in, turned, and hopped right back out onto the Sixteenth Street Mall and started pacing up and down, praying.

Then God intervened.

A man from the Nazarene church came up to me and grabbed me by the shoulder. He was one of the last men in the world that I would ask to pray with me for faith to build this building.

He asked, “Kenny, what in the world are you doing?
“Charlie, I'm praying.”

“that's obvious,” he said, “For what?”

“I believe God wants me to build this hotel.”

“I'm familiar with the project, ”He said. “What do you mean you're going to build it?”

I told him about my meeting, my weakness, and that I wanted to be the general contractor.

He amazed me with, “You know, I have faith to stand with you to believe you are going to do this.”

I said, “The grasshopper just left! Watch out I'm coming in!”

I got there at 9:30. I could see into the conference room. The CEO was sitting with his back to me with 10 or 12 people. One of them had a big sack of papers, so I knew he was going to be occupied for a spell. I told the receptionist about my appointment. “She said, I can't get his attention to tell him you're here. And when they shut that door, I'm not to interrupt them.”

I said, “I'll be back at 11:30 to have lunch with him.”

She looked at the schedule and said, “You're not down for lunch.”

“I know I'm not down for lunch; I'm suppose to have a meeting right now, but I'll be back at 11:30.”

I called him at 11:00. He apologized for forgetting our morning meeting and politely explained the people In the conference room. They were bankers. Then he asked, “Can you come now?”

Of course I could. I was prepared.

There was a group of important looking people in the room. The grasshopper mentality tried to return, but I sat down and kept still. He came striding in, right past me and over to them and said, “You're going to have to excuse me for a while. I know we have a meeting right now, but I haven't had lunch. Kenny Lane and I are going for a bite and I need to show him around the building. I looked at the receptionist with raised eyebrows, trying to keep my mouth from hanging open.

She said, “How did you do that?”

“I had nothing to do with it, believe me.”

I shared some of this with him at lunch and said, “You know, God told me to have lunch with you.”
Later that week I called the architect and arranged a meeting. I also called the chief to tell him about the meeting. He said they had been trying to get together with him for two weeks. “He doesn't have time for us. How did you get a meeting with him?”

I said, “I just called him. and he said Yes, we'll meet. When I called him again to thank him for the meeting, he invited me come back on Tuesday, saying, 'I'm going to be back at the building then, I'll show you through the whole thing and give you some drawings. We'll talk about you're involvement as well.'”

I got plugged into that job like these guys had always known me and I was their favorite contractor. How did I deserve all that favor? I actually didn't. It all came together for me, miraculously, from the hand of God.

I'm soaring with the giants now. Best of all, I'm one of them. The Bible told me a long time ago that the day I accepted Jesus as Lord of my life, I became one of his brothers. The grasshopper mentality must have been an insult to him.

He took care of a lot of things including that problem. I hope I never question Him again.

So, how about you? What's it going to be? Are your going to hop or soar?

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