Lately, I've been studying through the book of Joshua, so today, my devotion was on “The Day The Sun Stood Still” in Joshua 10, which I was actually pretty unfamiliar with. In the first chapter of the book of Joshua, God lets Joshua know that He is going to lead Joshua and the children of Israel into the Promised Land. That was something the Israelites had been longing for for many years, and to many of them, who had to endure 40 years of wandering in the wilderness beforehand, I’m sure they were weary and hesitant about ever seeing it come to fruition. God admonishes Joshua by saying: 1) He would be with Joshua and never leave him 2) Be strong and courageous and 3) no matter what enemy was faced, nothing would stand against Joshua and the children of Israel from walking into the Promised Land that God had for them; it was their inheritance that God would ensure they possessed.
9 chapters later, after several big victories such as the defeat of Jericho and city of Ai, 5 different enemy groups join forces to rise up and vanquish the children of Israel (because people are always willing to rise up and persecute you when they see God prospering you). Imagine the thoughts the Israelites may have been thinking or at least I would have thought them. Even though God had given them past victories AND told them that He would ensure the manifestation of what He had promised, SURELY there was some fear and worry about how that would happen since their enemies were multiplying.
So what does Joshua do when faced with seeing a paralyzing situation in front of him? Walks by faith. Joshua and the people who followed him could have given up based on their circumstances. They could’ve said, “God, you’ve given us victories before, but those were nothing compared to now! This is an impossible situation!” Instead, Joshua calls out to God and then says, “Sun, stand thou still upon Giberon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.” You do realize that those are impossible commands, right? Like, the sun and moon don't just stand still. Day HAS to come and night HAS to follow right after. So why would Joshua say them? I think, it’s because he truly believed that if God would do what He said He would (ensure they possessed the Promised Land), then Joshua was within his limits to ask and expect for the impossible to make it move forward in spite of the circumstance. God had already said time and time again that He would ensure victories for the children of Israel. God told Joshua not to worry about the obstacles, but be strong and courageous, clinging to Him, in order to walk into what was already promised. With that assurance, when time arose for oshua to doubt what God said, Joshua felt enabled to trust God, ask, AND believe the impossible. Doesn't that convict you? Joshua and the children of Israel had a viable threat on their lives, and Joshua's only focus was how to keep moving forward. Is that you? Or when circumstances come your way, do you find yourself paralyzed? If God was going to give the children of Israel victory over their enemies, Joshua was determined to fight, resiliently, because he knew they would win; God said they would! All Joshua asked of God was that they be given ample time to defeat their enemies, so he asks God to stop time so that they could get to work without distraction. They needed the sun to stay out, and not the moon, so that they had visibility to whoop their enemies in one fell swoop. Joshua's heart was in the right place. He had never seen the sun stand still, but he had faith enough to ask for something he'd never seen because he knew God would do the impossible because God had promised that the land was theirs. What in your life do you need God to do that, although you've never seen it done before, you have childlike faith to believe He'll do?
You know what the Holy Spirit conveyed to me during my devotions today? He conveyed this:
“If I’ve already told you what is in store for you this year, why do you doubt me? Why do you keep tracking the time and thinking that things have to be done by a certain date in order for my promise to be manifest this year? Don’t you know that I can do the impossible? I am not limited by anything, especially not time. Stop asking me to fight battles that I’ve already told you you’d win. Start praying for supernatural strength to move forward and walk into what’s already yours.”
Isn’t God good? My faith is so finicky, yet God knows when to come along and give me the push I need to keep going.
As children of God, God loves us, without a doubt. He desires to bless us and to see us living our lives in His will. God is supernatural; doing incredible, indescribable feats, so why would He want us living minscule powerless lives of defeat, disappointment, and discontentment? The more committed we are to walking with God, the more opportunities we have to see incredible moves of God, and that's how He grows our faith.
I remember last year, I was in a season facing so many obstacles and trial after trial. Right before everything started falling apart, God pointed me to 2 songs, "I'm Gonna Make It Through" and "I Am Not Alone". The lyrics in both songs emphasized that in the midst of trials, God is with us and we just have to cling to Him. Soon after, I was smacked with unexpected trials, but I knew those songs were God telling me, directly, that no matter how dark it got in that season, if I trusted Him, He would be with me. Do you know how encouraging that was to me? To know that the God of the Universe, the same God that made the sun stand still for Joshua, was fighting my battles. That enabled me to step out on faith like never before and ask God to do impossible things, and I believed He would BECAUSE I could look back to what He already promised me. Every night, even when my finite mind couldn't see how God was going to give me victory, even when pushing back tears because of what I was facing, I would say, "God, You said you'd be with me, and right now, I know You're right here. You said You'd never leave me nor forsake me. Your word says that You have plans to prosper me and not to harm me, so I'm trusting You to do the impossible because there's victory up ahead with my name on it, even though I can't see it. That's why You're God, and I'm not, so strengthen me to press through because I know You're working this all out on my behalf." Looking back, I cannot even begin to name all of the impossible things God did for me in that season, but some examples include random money that appeared in my bank accounts out of nowhere, large bills that I only had to pay 10% of, forgotten income from a part time that tripled out of nowhere, and a winter blizzard that come for the entire East Coast, that I prayed for when there was no sight of precipitation so that schools would be closed down. I thank God for that season; I cannot imagine where I would be if I had not clung to God to grow my faith in that season. Now, when I face trials, I can look back to that season to encourage me to keep trusting God because I have direct testimony of Him doing the supernatural in my life.
I do not know what you're facing today or what you're waiting on God to do, but I do know the God of the Universe who has supernatural power to do above and beyond what we are even capable of thinking. He's unchanging and never failing. He never makes mistakes. The same God who parted seas for His people to walk across dry land, the same God who caused battles to be won without every picking up a weapon; that's the God we serve.
God is fully aware of your situation. Stop wasting time trying to explain to Him how bad your problems are. He sees it all and wants you to move forward. Instead of looking at your circumstances and doubting that you can make it through and out, on top, look back to past victories and blessings that God has brought you through. Use them as ammunition to trust Him to enable you to see supernatural victories. He will give you strength to persevere. Just know that whatever God has promised to you WILL come to pass, even if it requires "the sun standing still."
Joshua 23: 14 “And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things[a] that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.
Dear God, You are so good. Beyond good. I thank You for Your Word. Thank you that Your promises are true , and they always come to pass. THank yuo for being god; a confidant, a comforter, a motivating coach, a push up the mountain, and so much more. Thank you for how you use trials to grow us and strenghten us to have faith in You. You are never failing. I pray for anyone reading this blog today. I pray that you would help them to move past dwelling on their circumstances and instead, have the faith to move forward in what You've already promised is theirs. You have plans to propser us, not to harm us, and everything that You're doing and allowing will work together for good. We have nothing to be afraid of. ENable us to have the faith to move forward in spite of anything that comes our way. No obstacle, enemy, or circumstance has a chance against You. Help us to never forget it. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.
Related Posts:
- http://www.jamekaleapoffaith.com/2016/07/the-victory-is-already-yours-fighting.html
- http://www.jamekaleapoffaith.com/2016/04/what-god-has-for-you-is-for-you-freedom.html
- http://www.jamekaleapoffaith.com/2016/06/how-to-navigate-tests-of-god-abraham.html
- http://www.jamekaleapoffaith.com/2016/04/trusting-god-in-wait-dont-underestimate.html
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