Whose Report?

As I got up this morning, the sun was shining bright and there was NO ice or 1-2" of snow like "they said" it was going to happen on last night’s weather report ......... and I thought....... ’yep, that's the way I’ve tended to live life – expending to much of my energy on preparing for what looks like might/could/should happen and it doesn't happen.’ And, every time I say to myself, ‘when are you going to learn to not put such credence on the ‘they said’ reports’?

I was reminded of the presentation of a report according to Numbers 13-14 that was as a result of an instruction from God for the Israelites to spy on the land of Canaan, to which He had promised them.

Moses and Aaron sent men to spy out the land. They were not ordinary people, they were according to the bible, leading men, everyone a leader, they must have been leaders with experiences, perhaps highly educated, people whose report after 40 days of investigation would command respect.

At the end of forty days these notable and qualified leaders returned from spying out the land and they came to Moses and Aaron and to the entire congregation for the presentation of the report.
They informed Moses, Aaron and the people that the land flows with milk and honey, economic boom, comfort and prosperous ease. Excellent news, but there is a problem. There is another report. Reports that meant don’t get happy yet. Don’t rejoice just yet. Let us tell you the bad news.

This is the bad news, the people who live in the land are strong, and the towns are fortified, very large and well protected, besides they are descendants of Anak, a long standing enemy of the Israelites.

At this point you can imagine the chaos, the disappointment, but there is yet another report. One of the spies, Caleb, quieted the people before Moses, and said ‘let us go up at once and occupy the land, for we are able to overcome it’.

You must understand that from the leaders, there are differing and conflicting reports about the land and whether or not it was suitable for acquisition.

There were antagonistic people around that spent forty days with Caleb on this special expedition, and they said to the people, ‘we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we’. In other words, we are not up to the task, we cannot do it. Caleb and Joshua were in the minority giving a report of hope.

At this point the report was unfavorable, people were worried, and in addition to the bad report, the land also consumes its inhabitants, the people who live there are giants.

Whose report will you believe? The report that says “We are able to overcome it” or the report which concludes “We are not able because they are stronger than we?”
We all know the rest of the story and it's outcome. So, I challenge us . . .  whose report will we believe?

The report that condemns you and claims you are not a child of God and you cannot make it?

Or the report of the Lord Your God that say you are His dearly beloved child who will continue to fight for you and will assure you that what He has promised you, that will He do?

Whose report will you believe?

1 Peter 2:9 “…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of God who called you out of darkness into God’s marvelous light”.
Whose report will you believe?

1 Peter 2:10  “once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people, once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy”
Whose report will you believe?

Roman 8:37-39 “…in all these things we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us, for I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.