Remember the story in the bible about the day the sun stood still? This morning I read this account in the bible. I had almost forgotten this story. When Joshua asked the Lord to hold the sun and moon still, God did exactly what he asked. Both the sun and moon stood still in the middle of the day for another full day.
This story takes place in the book of Joshua chapter 10;
Joshua 10:12-15 New International Version (NIV)
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[a] 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.
God extended the daylight hours by about another full day. God honored Joshua’s request because he was doing God’s will and the task at hand was very important to God
Last month I talked about not taking a single second of our lives for granted and trying to make the most of each day by aligning our will with God’s will. How do we know we are on the right track? How do we know if our will is aligning with God’s will. God is in control of every aspect of our lives. That doesn’t mean we can’t make our own decisions or make mistakes. Because, sometimes God allows us to make mistakes to teach us something. God will give you signs and indicators of which direction you should go, if you are paying attention.
If we enter each day submitting our will to God and accepting his will for our lives, it becomes very easy to follow God’s will. You will know when you are moving in the right direction. You will have a peace about where you are at. If you sense resistance or don’t have a peace about the direction you are going, stop and ask God to point you in the right direction. God will answer your prayer, don’t move until you sense God opening a door.
Six months ago I was praying about whether to become a licensed minister at our local church. I didn’t have a peace about it and so I fasted and prayed for 40 days. At the end of the 40 days, I still didn’t have peace about moving forward with the licensing. God spoke very clearly “no”. So, I told the elders and the church I was not going to go through with the licensing. This was difficult to do, because I do have a calling to be a pastor and I was called to this specific church 3 1/2 years ago.
I spent most of the last 6 months praying, asking God to tell me why he had told me “no”. It wasn’t until late April that I got my answer. I was having my devotions one morning, reading Proverbs chapter three, when the Lord revealed to me why he said “no” six months ago.
Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
I had one of those aha moments with God that morning. I realized God was testing me and I was not trusting in him completely. Yes, I did trust him enough to say no, when he told me “no”. But I then tried to figure it all out with my own understanding, instead of trusting God. Once I gave it over to God and completely trusted him to lead the way, I gained a peace about moving forward with the licensing. Later that week the Lord spoke “there is an opening door in front of you, step through it”. So, a couple of weeks later I met with the leadership team of our church and told them I was ready to move forward with the licensing.
I now realize God needed to do some more work on my heart before I was ready to step through the door. If we are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he will make your paths straight.
When our will and God’s will align, powerful things will happen. Just like they did with Joshua that day he asked God to stop the sun from setting. If what we are asking God to do is aligned with his will, that’s when miracles happen.
Being one with the Holy Spirit reveals the Father’s will to us. We can hear him speaking to us, we can sense when we are moving in the right direction and when we are moving in the wrong direction there is resistance. The closer we walk with God, the easier it is to hear his voice and know his will.
I hope this is helpful, may God bless you today!
Thank you for reading my blog!