Joshua 10:12-14

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.  There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

I believe in a God of Miracles. There is nothing He can’t do. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If you don’t believe that, the only thing I can tell you is that I have experienced His wonder working power in my Life.

I understand it is hard to wrap one’s brain around things of the supernatural or the miraculous. We were never meant to understand everything just by way of reasoning. That’s because we or not just rational beings, we are spiritual beings as well.  For some, their spiritual self is dead. Others have had theirs regenerated, awakened by the miraculous power of Almighty God.

That happened for me twenty-six years ago when I experience the supernatural, all-encompassing love and healing of Jesus Christ. I didn’t go out seeking to know truth or find Jesus, rather, He revealed himself to me in a powerful and indescribable way. In short, I became aware of His love for me; his forgiving of my sins; his overwhelming peace in my soul; the powerful flow of His Holy Spirit; and the physical healing He brought to my body.

This is how I know He can cause the Sun to Stand Still – because it stood still for me on that day He willingly lay down His life to be crucified for my sins. The bible says, “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.””

His life, death and miraculous resurrection opened the door for me to experience His unconditional love and supernatural favor. I testify, that since that day my life has not been the same. I have come to know Him as the God of miracles.

I would like to share 7 thoughts from the above passage in Joshua about this God of Miracles:

God is no respecter of persons… “Joshua was a man just as we are – he prayed”

If God worked a miracle for Joshua, and for me, He can work a miracle for anyone. James 5:17 says, God worked a miracle for Elijah as well: “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” If God can work miracles for others, He can for you. If He made the rain to stop and to fall again for Elijah; if he made the sun to stand still for Joshua, He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or imagine. All we have to do is ask and God will honor your prayer.

The Sun doesn’t have to go down on you dream… “the sun stopped in the middle of the sky”

Seeing Gods miraculous hand in action, Joshua was moved with boldness to ask for an even more stupendous miracle – to keep the day going, to keep the sun from setting, so that Israel had time to accomplish a complete victory before darkness fell. If you feel like the sun is setting on your dreams, maybe this is a prayer you can pray. A bold , audacious prayer. One that is not necessarily concerned about theologically correctness. The sun may be setting on your desire to see your children and grandchildren come to the saving knowledge of Christ. It may be going down on you desire for a happily ever after. Things don’t really have to go down hill. The simple reason is God can do anything – He is the God of miracles.

With Him all things are possible… “so the sun stood still.”

God specializes in the impossible. He calls things that are not even as though they are. He speaks and things come into being. Things that are difficult for us to do is totally easy for God to do. Even as Easter approaches, let us be reminded that we are talking about a God who makes the dead live again.

He never leaves us in our mess… “Joshua failed to seek God first”

The problem that Joshua and the house of Israel had on their hand was one brought upon them by their own doing. Chapter 9 tells the story of how the Gibionites tricked the Israelites into entering a covenant relationship with them. Unfortunate for the elders of Israel, they failed to seek the Lord about the decision to enter into that covenant. So they inherited all their mess. But the beauty of this story is that God does not abandon us in the mess we create by our own mistakes. He always rescues us from our mess.

God listens to and answers prayers… and sometimes those prayers have to be audacious, bold. “sun stand still”

Sometimes our prayers are just too safe. We worry “too much” about whether our prayers are in the will of God. Don’t get me wrong, we need to pray God centered prayers, but our uncertainty of what God wills often weakens our prayers. We need to pray not only God centered prayers, but God-sized prayers. The bedrock of our prayers should be, “I know whom I believe.” Bold prayers are offered by faith in a big God.

We fight from the place of victory… “I have given them into your hand”  

The battles we often fight are usually not ours to fight. Those battles belong to the Lord. However, He often uses our own hands to  break the power of the enemy. God does His work, but He draws us into working with Him. Often God waits to see our initiative, our willingness to be partners with Him, before He does what only He can do. We notice that Joshua didn’t wait around for the hail to come. He was busy doing what he could do in partnership with God, and God did what only God could do.

God always gets the glory… “surely the Lord was fighting”

It is critically important to recognize where our help comes from. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. Without Him we can do nothing. He alone gives us the power and ability to succeed, prosper, win and conquer our enemies. We must be careful, at the end of the day, to give Him all the honor and praise. He works the miracles!

Conclusion:

Do you feel like the sun is going down on your dreams?

Do you find yourself in a mess of your own making?

Do you feel like your prayers are not audacious enough?

Do you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle?

How often do you recognize His mighty hands fighting on your behalf?

Let me remind you – we serve a miracle working God. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If you would allow Him by faith, He will come and do for you the thing you know is impossible. All things are possible for those who truly believe in the God of miracles.

 

 

Did Deeper: Numbers 31:2; Deuteronomy 1:30; Judges 5:2; 16:28; Esther 8:13; Luke 18:7; Revelation 6:10; Numbers 21:14; 2 Samuel 1:18; Psalms 19:4; 74:16,17; 136:7-9; 148:3; Isaiah 24:23; 38:8; Joel 2:10,31; 3:15; Zechariah 4:6,7; Matthew 21:21,22; Mark 11:22-24; Luke 17:6; Matthew 5:45; 24:29; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12; 8:12; 16:8,9; Revelation 21:23