When the Sun Stood Still

The Lord is with his people. He fights for them. He performs miracles for them. He loves them. He will do the impossible. He reassures them (Joshua 10:8). He can confuse the enemy (Joshua 10:10). He can send down hailstones that kill more men than swords (Joshua 10:11). He can make the Sun stand still (Joshua 10:12-14). He makes sure we return home safe (Joshua 10:15). 

This story amazes me because the Lord...

#1. Told Joshua, "Don't worry about it! I've already taken care of it, they've already lost. All you have to do it go out there and finish the job. I'm with you so don't sweat it." This one to me is the struggle. God tells us so many times in the Bible to not worry, how strong he is, how loving he is, how powerful he is, yet I still seem to say, "I, I, I'm really not quite sure... are you sure Lord? Because THIS situation seems pretty darn big! It's SO big!! Do you realize how big it is? Are you sure you can really handle this?!" But, do I think in my head I can do a better job of handling it than God wholly taking control of it? No, if I think about it I really don't think I can. So why do I struggle with handing things over to him? See, God's always told this to us. He's always said that he has ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF IT! So why worry? This is my number one struggle. I'm so thankful that my God is a God of compassion!! 

#2. God went above and beyond his promise. What God originally said to Joshua would have been enough. He said, "Not one of them will be able to withstand you." Which pretty much translates to, "You've already won! Just go out and do your thing!" But he went above and beyond that to help the Israelites! He makes the Gibeonites easier to kill by confusing them and then he sends down monster hailstones to kill the rest of them! You see, God always goes above and beyond when it comes to helping us out in our battles! It might seem like the exact opposite was happening, but he's always right there! The Israelites might have thought that the Gibeonites running around confused made it harder and that the hailstones were coming after then when in reality, THOSE WERE ACTIONS OF GOD! It might seem like attacks are coming at you when they're God helping you out. 

#3. He gave them just what they needed. He made the Sun stand still. Joshua asked God for the Sun to stand still so that they could have enough time to finish the job and God delivered! It also shows the amazing power of prayer! God knew that the Israelites needed extra daylight time to win the battle so he gave it to them! He wants to make sure we succeed and will do what needs to be done so that we will! 

#4. Without the battle God's glory wouldn't have been as evident as it was. That wasn't such a wonderful sentence but it gets across what I'm trying to say. This battle was SO GOD! Who else could confuse and make the enemy not even fight back? And then send giant hailstones to finish the job? BUT, all the while making the Sun stand still in the sky so that the Israelites could fully defeat the enemy? If you feel like your battle is being prolonged, like you're where the Moon is standing still, then know that somewhere else the Sun is standing still! Your dawn will come and you will be able to see the great victory the Lord did when both your Moon and some else's Sun were standing still!!