Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in
the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children
of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon
stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies… for the Lord fought
for Israel. Joshua 10:12–14
Joshua, Moses’ successor who led the children
of Israel into the promised land, was someone who dared to ask big. When Joshua
was caught in the thick of battle with his enemies and the sun was about to
set, he cried out for the sun and moon to stand still, and the Bible goes on to
record that God answered his prayer.
I love this story. When my leaders and I were
in the plains where this battle took place, we could see the sun over Gibeon on
one side and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon on the other side. Both the
sun and moon could be seen at the same time from that location. Standing there,
I could just imagine Joshua in the midst of the battle, raising his voice and
pointing to the sun on one side to stand still and then turning to the moon to
issue the same command. Joshua was asking God for more daylight because the
momentum of the battle was to their advantage. He wanted to completely rout his
enemies and not give them time to regroup.
When you think about what Joshua asked, it
was both an audacious and inaccurate request! If you were attentive during your
science classes in school, you know that the earth orbits around the sun, not the
sun around the earth! So technically, when Joshua called for the sun and moon
to stand still, God made the earth stand still instead.
Joshua’s request was scientifically inaccurate, but nevertheless, God honored
Joshua’s chutzpah faith! He understood that what Joshua needed was more
daylight, and He made it happen.
Isn’t
it encouraging to know that God didn’t correct Joshua and give him CliffsNotes
on how the solar system that He built actually functions? It gives me great
encouragement to know that even when our faith confessions may not always be
perfect, God still honors our hope and faith in Him. He loves it when we ask
Him for big things. My friend, you can ask of Him, knowing that the battle
truly belongs to the Lord, and that He will fight for you the way He fought for
Israel because you are His covenant child. (Article & Picture; courtesy of Joseph Prince Ministries used with kind permission).
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