Wings

Joshua 10: 12-15

“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 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.”

As a child I used to pray that I could fly.  In my prayers I would see myself flying like an eagle through the sky, up among the clouds, up above all of my childhood problems.  God saw through my prayers and saw that what I really needed was peace. And somehow, through my visions of flight, he gave me that peace.

Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still.  We now know that the sun does not rotate around the earth, but the earth rotates around the sun.  The sun did not need to be held in place on that fateful day, but God somehow gave the Israelites the sense that time was standing still.

God hears our prayers, no matter how foolish they are.  And when He answers, He strikes at the heart of the matter.  We may not understand the answer right away, but with the spinning of the earth and the unfolding of time we realize that God has given us wings to fly.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)