Just yesterday I spent time with a young mom who told of the miracles of God that had happened in her family.  Then I shared the recent miracle of God in my family.  How God must smile when we remember those times, sharing those life altering events that happen and are solved in unexplainable ways, and then immediately give HIM all the glory for helping us—even before we knew we needed help! 

She shared the time her dad was cutting grass using his riding lawnmower like he always did.  Suddenly the mower stopped working for no apparent reason.  He got off the mower and pushed it back to the house to work on it when he saw the hemlock growing wildly where the mower had stopped working. Had he mowed right on through the growth, he would have died from the poisoning plant be ripped apart.  Her parents called professionals to come and remove it immediately.  The next day, the mower started effortlessly.  God protected her dad before he knew he needed protecting.  There are so many ways God protects us that we sometimes fail to take notice.  It’s time we thank God for daily for being involved in all the details of our lives. 

“The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.” Psalm 37:23

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephania 3:17

When we draw near to God; God comes closer to us so we can hear Him more clearly. Believing, inquiring, listening, trusting and obeying God gives us life and more life with power, energy, renewed minds, clearer vision no matter what obstacle is thrown in the path.  Asking God before acting for God pleases Him.  To inquire of God before doing anything of significance, especially those things that will affect all those around us; is required to understand God’s directives more clearly. Obedience to God demonstrates our love for God. 

There is no one like our God!  God does for us what He knows we cannot do for ourselves. Always and forever—God is God. 

God hears our prayers.  In the battle between God and evil; Joshua learns that He can also call out to God in the heat of battle and God will answer.  Joshua shouts to the heavens and asks for the sun to stand still—and God did exactly that!  Only God, the Creator of all, could do that!  Imagine, a generation later of an Israelite family sitting around the table in conversation.  Imagine one family member getting everyone’s attention as says; “But, remember that day the SUN STOOD STILL—FOR A WHOLE DAY!  Then they retell the story of what God did that day for Joshua and his army in a buzz of praise to God with details of the event coming from all seated at the table.  “Ah, that day was special, the day God made the sun stand still at high noon for a whole day!  Yes, there’s no one like our God!”

Joshua 10

The Sun Stands Still

Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies. ² He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. ³ So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. ⁴ “Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said, “because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”

⁵ Then the five kings of the Amorites—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon—joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.

⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

¹² 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.”
¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Five Amorite Kings Killed

¹⁶ Now the five kings had fled and hidden in the cave at Makkedah. ¹⁷ When Joshua was told that the five kings had been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah, ¹⁸ he said, “Roll large rocks up to the mouth of the cave, and post some men there to guard it. ¹⁹ But don’t stop; pursue your enemies! Attack them from the rear and don’t let them reach their cities, for the Lord your God has given them into your hand.”

²⁰ So Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely, but a few survivors managed to reach their fortified cities. ²¹ The whole army then returned safely to Joshua in the camp at Makkedah, and no one uttered a word against the Israelites.

²² Joshua said, “Open the mouth of the cave and bring those five kings out to me.” ²³ So they brought the five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon. ²⁴ When they had brought these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the army commanders who had come with him, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks.

²⁵ Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” ²⁶ Then Joshua put the kings to death and exposed their bodies on five poles, and they were left hanging on the poles until evening.

²⁷ At sunset Joshua gave the order and they took them down from the poles and threw them into the cave where they had been hiding. At the mouth of the cave they placed large rocks, which are there to this day.

Southern Cities Conquered

²⁸ That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

²⁹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. ³⁰ The Lord also gave that city and its king into Israel’s hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

³¹ Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. ³² The Lord gave Lachish into Israel’s hands, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. ³³ Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.

³⁴ Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. ³⁵ They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.

³⁶ Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. ³⁷ They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.

³⁸ Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. ³⁹ They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.

⁴⁰ So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. ⁴² All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God did not promise the Israelites the land without giving them the strength to conquer it. Where God guides; He provides.  God helped Joshua lead the people into possession of their land.  God does not give us commands or lead us to decisions and and then leave us to fight the obstacles in our own strength. That’s not how God works.  If God leads us to it; He will lead us through it! Remember the Red Sea and the Jordan River crossings?  Yes, we learn that God strengthens us and guides us in every detail of our lives.  He “delights” in the details of our lives and loves us deeply, relentlessly, unconditionally, and completely! 

“Strength will rise when we wait upon the Lord, when we wait upon the Lord…” is the chorus based on Holy Scriptures coming into my mind right now as I am reminded that we humans are an impatient creation.  We want God to act as soon as we trip on a small stone of irritation in front of us. However, if trust in God trumps our feelings and emotions, we will quickly give up our control to God.  We learn that as we grow and mature in our faith relationship with God we realize what we don’t know—the future!  Why would we want to control what we cannot see?  Trust God and His timing.  He does know! 

When we struggle with God’s timing and demand control; we slip into needless, wasted worries that lead to all kinds of ailments that are unnecessary. These times of worries that lead to despair can stunt our growing, intimate, loving, trusting relationship with God.  Be patient. “Be still (let go of control) and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) God is using today’s difficulties to strengthen us for tomorrow. He is equipping you and I in the process as He see fit for each one of us. The God who makes things grow will help us bear the Holy Spiritual fruits of His character when we “wait upon the Lord” by trusting and obeying. (A list of the bountiful fruits are found in Galatians 5:22-23)

God did not bring us this far to leave us.  God promises He will be with us always—even until the end of the age—when Jesus comes back again.  God is faithful even when we are not.  God’s promises are true and reliable because God does not lie.  How refreshing in a world of darkness who has fallen for the Liar, the Enemy of God. 

“Just trust me,” says the God who loves us most and gives His best to save us.

Lord,

Thank you for your reminders of your power, your glory, and your love.  I will meditate on what you say all day long and into the night. I’m listening because I am yours. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen