So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.  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.”

After an all night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.  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.  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 Israelites.

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”

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on the 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.  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! Joshua 10:7-14 NIV

This is just one of the awesome stories of victorious battle in the Bible.  A battle fought by God’s people where God has promised to be with them and make them victorious. I love the beginning of this scripture where God tells Joshua “do not be afraid of them, I have given them to your hand.  Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

Allow me to digress here and tell you the backstory here in case you have never read the book of Joshua.  Joshua had been appointed by God to take over the job of Moses in leading the Israelites to the promised land.  In the beginning of this book, God tells Joshua not to fear and not to get discouraged because God will be with him wherever he goes.

Now Joshua and his army of Israelites had become a mighty force to be reckoned with under God’s strength and guidance and were winning their battles.  They had totally destroyed a city called Ai and another city called Jericho.  So 8 kings total get together and decide to attack the city of Gibeon because Gibeon had formed an alliance with the Israelites.  Gibeon was an important city and they felt that they must attack this city and stop Joshua and the Israelites.  So 8 countries come against this city and Joshua and his fighting men.

Now they may have had the armies of 8 countries, but Joshua had God on his side.  So when Joshua and his army hear from the Gibeonites that these 8 armies are coming against them, they march all night to get there.  After an all night march they launch a surprise attack on the Amorite armies. You’ve gotta love what God does here.  He throws the Amorites into confusion and Joshua and his men completely defeated them.  For those that chose flight rather than fight, God took care of them as well.  He hurled huge hailstones down on them and killed more of them than the Israelites had killed.

Now what happens next is awesome!  Have you ever been working on a project, like perhaps an outdoor project and just wished that you could have a few more hours of daylight? Well Joshua and his men were annihilating the Amorite army but they hadn’t quite finished the job and of course Joshua wanted to complete his victory before nightfall.  So he says to the Lord: “Sun stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon”  and it did. According to scripture for a full day the sun stood still and did not go down.  How awesome is that?  Joshua had enough faith in God that he called out for exactly what he needed to complete the task that God had given him to do.  And God gave it to him, just like that.

You see Joshua didn’t ask for this out of selfish motivation, he asked it because God had told him to defeat this army and he wanted to complete it that day.

When God gives us a task to do, he gives us everything we need to complete that task.  There are so many components to this story that I just love.

I love the fact that Joshua and his men didn’t have to fight too hard because God threw the other armies into mass confusion.  This happened in the book of 2 Chronicles Chapter 20.  King Jehosaphat and his army faced a much larger army but God was with them.  He had this much larger army get confused and start killing each other.  King Jehosaphat and his men basically just had to suit up and show up.

I love the fact that when they tried to run away, God hurled hailstones at them and killed them.  Now this may sound like I’m being a little sadistic here, but let me explain.  When people fight against God and what God wants, it’s never good for them.  They might not have had wi-fi in which to get the latest news back then, but by this time I am sure that word had spread that God was with the Israelites.  Those at Gibeon were smart enough to form an alliance with the Israelites.  The 8 Amorite kings were afraid of Joshua’s God given power and set out to destroy the Israelites.  This was not a good move.

I love the fact that Joshua was so bold as to look to God and command the sun and the moon to stand still.  Wow!  That’s bold my friend!  We have not because we ask not.  How many times have you realized that you needed something but failed to ask because you thought it would take a miracle to make it happen?  Well guess what, we serve a God who just happens to be in the business of miracles!

I love the fact that God had told Joshua that not one would be able to withstand him and the Bible tells us that Joshua and his army completely defeated the Amorite army.  The Bible describes the day that the sun stood still as the “day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel”.

So I ask you today, what huge army or task are you facing today?  Is there some challenge set out for you that seems impossible?  First and foremost ask God if this is what he wants you to do.  If you are sure that this is what God wants you to do, then call on his strength and power to get it done.  If God calls us to do something he fully equips us to complete the task.  Even if it means, that He has to perform a few miracles to help you get it done.

I don’t know about you, but I have seen God perform miracles for me.  I have seen Him do things for me that I did not think possible.  I thank God every day for His presence in my life.  Without Him, I know I could do nothing.

So as you go through this day and this weekend, I encourage you to stick close to God.   Put him and his desires first, before your own.  You will find in doing this that God will do some amazing things in you and through you along the way.

As a matter of fact, you are reading a blog directed by God and typed by one of the most computer illiterate people on the planet.  But when I was dragging my feet on doing what God wanted me to do, God provided me with a good friend who was able to handle all the technical stuff for me.

So don’t think about what you can’t do, think about what God can do and have a great weekend!