Words Matter

Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward which have murmured against me. Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. (Numbers 14:28-32)

The Israelites were doing what normal, flesh-driven, emotional humans do: they talked! However, God heard and held them accountable for every word they said. They were complaining out loud, saying, “why don’t we all just die in the wilderness?!” And basically, God replied, "You asked for it; you got it.” Their words were constantly about negative things, worry, and complaint, so their fate was sealed by the words of their mouths. The wilderness became their final resting place. Doubt and complaints turned their journey into a wilderness graveyard. Does that sound harsh? God had been teaching them and is now teaching us that our words always have consequences. Either negatively or positively, what we say will end up shaping our reality.

On the positive note, two men didn’t die in the wilderness, Caleb and Joshua. Why? They spoke different words. Faith, not doubt, was their language. They would not let a moment of wilderness mess with their promise.

You may not be wandering in a literal wilderness, but you will find yourself in difficult situations and scary scenarios. During those times, your words will navigate you toward the promise or keep you in the problems.

Be mindful of your words. Are you speaking doubt and complaints, or are you declaring faith even in the wild moments of life? Our words always make a difference. Make sure the sum of your words sounds like a song of faith, not a broken record of doubt.