It’s a new week! Monday, March 21st, 2022. Great things are happening! We celebrated the wedding of Paul Brown (one of our pastors in New Hope Oahu) and Megan Kaneshiro (one of our youth leaders in New Hope West in Oregon). Congratulations!
Today we visit Joshua, who asked for the impossible with God, and He granted it! Are there any desperate needs in your life that are “impossible” to be answered except by a miracle?
Read on …
Today's Reading:
Joshua 9,10,11; 1 Corinthians 6
Scripture
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 its enemies.”
(Joshua 10:12-13)
Observation
Joshua was in a pickle, and the only way out was with a miracle! Joshua had made a rash commitment, but a commitment nevertheless, to become allies with the Gibeonites. The commitment wasn’t the hard part; it was making good on that commitment! Five kings attacked the Gibeonites, and they cried out to Joshua for help! Joshua knew that they’d all be domed without a miracle, so he dared to ask God for a gargantuan miracle, and God answered!
Application
It’s easy to get wrapped up and sidetracked by pursuing comfort as our main goal in life. In turn, our faith can quickly become the means to making life easier. However, we might be at risk of missing the greater opportunity to take a big, bold step of faith!
I know, I know … Joshua’s prayer was not the most accurate… because the sun always stands still while the Earth revolves. If the moon would stand still, we would be inundated by several tidal waves each day! But God “translated” his prayer to mean that he needed more time to defeat the enemy. On the other hand, maybe he needed God to help his troops be far more efficient, but God understood his desperate cry and answered in either case.
God understands you and me, too. When we cry out to God, He understands exactly what we need and moves … even though HOW He moves may not be what we were thinking. The bottom line was that when Joshua asked boldly for the miracle, God answered!
I need to do this more often. I am at risk of just asking for things that would make life more comfortable, but if I don’t pray Joshua-like prayers, I will never win the most important battles of my life.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, thank you for translating our cries and interceding for us in a way that gains the attention of heaven! You know what I need the most, so I trust You to translate my cries into divine requests that bring the miraculous to my life!
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