“Many are saying of me, ‘God will not deliver him’.” – Psalm 3:2 TNIV
When I read this second verse in Psalm 3, I could hear my Pastor saying (as she often does in her sermons) “Whose report are you going to believe? Man’s or God’s?” I had to look back on all of the negative reports I received in my life from man. People use to say that I could not do this and that I could not do that. Sometimes I listened and guess what, I couldn’t do what they said because I never tried. Other times I turned a deaf ear to those naysayers and I accomplished what I set out to do.
The LORD tells us in His Word we can do all things.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:13 KJV
Yet we know man and those powers and principalities, will try to steer us away from relying on the promises found in the report of the Lord. Let us take the example of the twelve scouts from Israel who were commissioned to survey the land of Canaan, the promised land of God (Numbers chapter 13-14). The land was all that the LORD told the people it was. It truly was a land of abundance that overflowed with milk and honey. However, only two of the scouts believed the report of the LORD, Caleb and Joshua. The other 10 failed to believe God’s report and focused on man, giving the people a negative report not trusting in the LORD their God. These 10 scouts caused the nation of Israel to believe their report and the people wailed and complained accusing God of sending them to a place to be killed, saying it was better for them to be in bondage in Egypt! This is the first effect of believing man’s report over God’s: Losing trust in the LORD.
Of course God heard their wailing and complaining and was fed up. He was ready to be done with the nation of Israel and wipe them out altogether save for Moses’ family. This brings us to our second effect of believing man’s report: It arouses God’s anger.
Moses interceded on the nation’s behalf and God destroyed the 10 who caused the nation to sin and lose trust in the LORD. The nation’s penalty was that every male 20 years of age and older and all who grumbled against the LORD, save for Caleb and Joshua, would never step a foot into the promised land. They were to wander the wilderness for 40 years, one year for each day the scouts were out surveying the land. The last and most costly effect of not believing God’s report for man’s, is that God will make man’s report true. Therefore, His promises on the situation will not be realized for us. We will see that God’s Word was true, but our opportunity to partake of those promises will pass us by.
In summary Numbers chapters 13-14 shows us that we should not believe the report of man, the naysayers of Psalm 3:2 because:
1. Believing man’s report over God’s causes us to lose trust, a more proper word is faith, in God.
2. Believing man’s report over God’s, angers the Most High.
3. Last believing man’s report over God’s causes us to not partake of the fruits of His promise(s) watching it or them, pass us by.
Why rely on the report of man? Man is known to cheat, steal, and rob one another. However, God is not a man that He should ever lie to us one time. If the LORD said it will be done, believe it, because it will. God’s Word always accomplishes what it sets out to do:
“So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, except it accomplish that which I please, and make the thing whereto I sent it prosper.” – Isaiah 55:11 JPS
So stand firm in faith believing, living on every Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3):
“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31 KJV
© ShawnTe Pierce
