God of the Miraculous

In Joshua 10, there is a picture of ultimate faith and an impossible miracle. After the Lord had given the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon” (v. 12). This was a clear sign that Lord was truly fighting for Israel and a day like no other where “the Lord listened to a human being” (v. 13). The miraculous answer to prayer allowed the Israelites to continue their Holy battle, and thus fulfill the promise of the Lord dating back to the time of Abraham. The Lord moved heaven and earth on behalf of His chosen to reveal His strength and remind them that He was indeed with them.

Unfortunately, there is a contingent that would try to explain this miracle away by justifying it with natural causes. Whether the sun literally stood still for nearly a day, as Scripture says, or whether it only seemed to stay brighter longer is a big variation. Joshua’s prayer was that the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the Word says the Lord listened to him. It is portrayed as a day like no other before or since it. It is dangerous to begin explaining the miraculous events of the Bible with understandable, human concepts in order to make it appear possible. Regardless of how the church has misused the “miraculous” today, God is a God of miracles and is worthy of such recognition.

Adrian Rogers once said, and I paraphrase, ‘I would rather hear from the Lord one day that I took His word too literally, than that I explained it all away.’ I have the same conviction, and in the events that my mind cannot completely understand I try to have faith, and believe God is who He says He is and has done what He says He has done. The very God who raises people from the dead, parts the seas, tears down walls, and saves human souls is, no doubt, a God who can make the very sun He created to stand still.