The Good Report

October 17, 2008

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news. Isaiah 52:7a

Every day we have a choice: to speak the bad news or the good news. We must choose to carry the good report to a world increasingly filled with darkness—to land on the side of faith in the battles of life and declare what God has promised, no matter how protracted the challenge.

In the book of Numbers we see the story of twelve leaders of Israel who spied out the Promised Land. Ten came back with a bad report saying the land was too hard to conquer. Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, carried a word of faith. Caleb said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it” (Numbers 13:30b). Because of their faith, those two men lived to see the Promised Land.

The majority of people carry the bad report and through their words instill fear in those around them (Joshua 14:8). It takes a different spirit to speak the good report:

“But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.” Numbers 14:24

The essence of good report people is that they speak from deep-seated convictions. Notice what Caleb said: “I brought word back to him as it was in my heart” (Joshua 14:7). The essence of bad report people is that they speak from the circumstances around them.

Choose to be one of the courageous few who trust God past the limited horizon of their current circumstances. The trying of your faith will come, but as you stand fast, the results will be more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7). God will take the insecurity out of your life and give you hope as the anchor of your soul. As you choose the good report, years from now you will thank God that you identified not with the negative majority but with Joshua and Caleb.

Have faith in God,
Pastor Jeff Perry

© 2008 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.