By Phyllis LaBranche | LCSW, MSW
Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. The Old Testament has some spectacular stories of how God intervened in the lives of His children. One of my favorite stories and great example of faith was when Joshua asked God for the sun to stand still until he could finish the battle. He just needed more time to accomplish the work.
So the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel. On that day Joshua spoke to the Lord while the people of Israel were listening. He said, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still. The moon stopped. They didn’t move again until the nation won the battle over its enemies.
You can read about it in The Book of Jasher.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn’t go down for about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since. It was a day when the Lord listened to a mere man. You can be sure that the Lord was fighting for Israel! Joshua 10:12-14
Joshua asked for the SUN to STAND STILL! And God DID IT! Is this amazing? Ummm, yah! But even more amazing…we serve the SAME God today! The Master of the universe is on OUR side! There is nothing our God cannot do.
The New Testament reveals how the family of God is extended to the Church. Today, it is through the Church that God’s Spirit is manifested to all humanity. And each believer has access to this sun-stand-still God through the Son, Jesus the Christ. All we have to do is believe in Him and ask.
As we prepare to depart for Ethiopia in August, there are many things that need be accomplished. We know God is sovereign over the kings of the land, the sun and moon, and has all the money we need. We know He loves us and cares for us far more than the carefree sparrows of the air and beautiful lilies of the fields. We will trust Him to bring all that is necessary to continue onward to do the work we have been commissioned to do. That means we pack up and we go.
And for the Church, there seems to be an emerging awareness of our social responsibility to humanity. This movement is calling all of us to action; to love and care for the millions and millions of widows and orphans, to give our resources and time to relieve their suffering and restore them to their communities. The time is now; the Church is uniting across many cultures and various languages in order to bring the redeeming love of GOD to those in need. May this sun-stand-still God move more hearts so that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Phyllis and her husband, Rick, will be serving with World Orphans in Ethiopia managing a guesthouse and facilitating church-to-church partnerships in the capital city of Addis Ababa.