Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 30: 27-33
The 10 spies were not necessarily lying. What they reported back to Moses was a factual, evidential, physically visible expression of how things were on the ground, according to their observation. But they were punished by God because the spirit they were operating from was not of God but of the world. They were not speaking from a place of balancing what they could see physically against what God had promised concerning the situation. In effect, their speech spread fear amongst the people and disheartened the hearts of many. But of Joshua and Caleb, the Lord said, “They are of a different spirit.” They saw exactly what their 10 fellow spies saw. And no. They were not hiding their heads under the sand. What they spoke and reported was not unrealistic or impractical as the world would judge. They spoke faith. They spoke life. They spoke the Heart of God even in the face of insurmountable challenges facing the nation. As children of God, we find ourselves in the same place the 12 spies found themselves. We can see what everybody is seeing, but we also know something the world doesn’t know. We know God’s power. We know His Word. We know His promises. Therefore our speech CANNOT be exactly as the world’s. Else, where’s the distinction between light and darkness? Or has the salt completely lost its savour?
I hear the Lord saying with sadness in His voice, “Many of the people shouting the loudest about the Corona virus and cursing the government have not spent even five minutes praying about the situation. They are saying prayer is impractical. Impractical? Impractical to cry out to the One who promises to forgive and heal your land if you will humble yourselves, pray, and turn from your wicked ways. Impractical to call on Me, the One who heals ALL your diseases? The One who promises to keep the plague from accessing you in Psalm 91? Impractical?
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:9-11 (NKJV)
And so I am grieved that instead of setting the pace for the world and being the light in this dark times, many of My People have chosen the narrative of the world. They are speaking like the world. Cursing their government. Confessing that they are now finished and headed for death. They have forgotten My instructions to pray for those in authority. Many have no idea the level of warfare those in authority are engaged in spiritually by principalities they are not even aware of, which influences some of their decisions. Where are those who will wait in My Presence and travail for the nation until the hearts of kings are turned and influenced by My Spirit? Where are the Watchmen?
Where are the Watchmen who will speak life and not death over the nation? Remember, the more you curse your government, the more you weaken them. Your words either release life or death. The more you intercede for them and bless them, the more you activate angelic ministration around them to fight their warfare and influence them towards good. Nevertheless, I have yet a remnant who know their place and are standing guard, watching in prayer night and day on behalf of the nation. And I will have mercy, says the Lord.
Let 100% of your energy concerning this situation and other crises in your nation be intercession and travail. Then, only speak as moved and quickened by My Spirit over the nation, not echoing the narrative of the world, but releasing the Substance of LIGHT and SALT of the earth. Or have you forgotten that you are the ambassadors of Heaven on earth?
Do not be afraid. These are the things you must do: Speak truth to one another, render true and sound decisions in your gates. Zechariah 8:15-16
Words: Grace Favour (Anne Shikuh)
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