(Phil 4:13)  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

When a commanding officer gives a command, in accordance to the military manual, to the military men who are under his command — how are they to answer: “I will try” or “Sir, yes sir”? The answer is obvious, the soldier, upon entry to military service, takes a solemn oath to obey all commands given to him by his superior officer without question. The answer is to be, “Sir, yes sir.” The soldier’s submission is without question; and his obedience is total to the command of his supervisor. The key for the soldier in making his decision to submit and obey the command is that the command is given in accordance to the military manual. If the command is within the guidelines of the manual, then he carries out the command without question; for this is what he took an oath to do.

So it is in God’s army for His soldiers. However, the soldier in God’s army has no decision as to whether the command is according to the Word of God; for the Commander is the Author of the soldier’s manual. The problem is not the Author, or His command to the soldier; but, the soldier’s attitude to the Commander, and his dedication and duty to the Commander. The soldier’s answer to the Commander reveals the perception of the soldier of his position as a soldier in God’s army; and of the purpose of the soldier; and of the preeminence of the Commander. To emphasize this point, note the following examination of the two answers of “I will try” and “Sir, yes Sir.”

If a soldier of Jesus Christ answers His Commander, “I will try,” it reveals a recipe for defeat, and not victory in his spirit. There are three reasons for this flaw in the soldier’s answer.

First, the soldier has the “I” syndrome; which means he is depending upon himself and his own abilities to perform. This assumption reveals that the soldier: (1) has a faulty foundation of self, and not a sure foundation of the Savior; (2) is not walking by faith (Gal. 2:20) but by sight; (3) has not learned that his sufficiency is not of himself, but of God (2 Cor. 3:5; 12:9-10); (4) does not depend upon the strength of Christ instead of his own strength (Phil. 4:13), for the power to perform the commandments of His Commander comes from the Indwelling Power of Christ Himself and not from his own strength.

Secondly, the soldier is not depending on the Promises of Victory in his Commander. The victory has already been won by Christ (1 John 5:4-5); for He (Christ, Our Forerunner) is already within the veil (Heb. 6:18-20). Jesus told the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:9a), “…My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Paul’s response was, “…Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me”; which is the place mentally that every soldier must be, in order to depend upon the Promises of Christ. The Promises of God have never failed the believer, nor can they fail, for the Promises are in Christ Jesus and Amen.

Thirdly, the soldier has no peace that he will be successful in his mission. Not only has he dismissed the Power of God to actually perform the mission, and the Promises of God that he cannot fail in his mission; but also, he has not the Peace, or assurance, of success as he carries out his mission. No peace in the soldier as he carries out his mission causes him: (1) to doubt himself and the mission itself; (2) to be timid, and not bold and brave; (3) to get discouraged as he experiences failure after failure, depending upon himself and not on God. All of these things cause the soldier to be tempted to give up on the mission and tempted to turn back.

In conclusion, dismissing the Power of God to actually perform the mission; and not standing on the Promises of God; and not having the Peace of God as he performs the mission bring the soldier to “the Grasshopper Complex”

(Num. 13:33) “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.”

There are two results of the Grasshopper Complex for the weak soldier of Jesus Christ: He views himself as a grasshopper in the sight of the enemy. And he is viewed by the enemy as a grasshopper, an insignificant adversary, a weak soldier; which brings no fear upon the enemy.

The Grasshopper Complex is the recipe for failure in the soldier’s mission.