Daily Devotional

“And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel” (Joshua 10:14). 

Sceptics often question the stories of miracles in the Bible. They say nature’s laws are unalterable, that events outside these laws would never not occur, and that stories such as Joshua’s long day, when the sun stood still, are mere fairy tales.” Many scholars doubt that the Lord can defy the laws of nature. 

When the leader of Israel desired more time to fight against the Amorites, the Bible says, “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: ‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.’ So, the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies. … So, the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day” (Joshua 10:12, 13). 

Sceptics argue that the sun stands still anyway, that it is the earth that turns on its axis. But this doesn’t change the essence of the story—after all, even today we say the sun rises and sets. Others think God may have used a reflective process to cause the sun to appear to stand still. After all, if the earth stopped rotating, wouldn’t it cause everything on the planet to fly off into space? 

God is not subject to the laws of nature. The Scriptures provide us with plenty of evidence to show us that the Lord is above nature. The Creator controls creation; He is not controlled by nature. 

The creation story in Genesis affirms that God dictates the elements of nature at His will. When Jesus calmed the winds and waves, the disciples remarked, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:27). Satan wants to hide the hand of the Maker of heaven and earth, but the Bible teaches “fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind” fulfill “His word” (Psalm 148:8). 

O Creator of all things, I worship You as the first cause of all that has been made.