Joshua 10 contains the famous story of the sun standing still. The record says that the sun didn’t set for about a day. It says that Joshua spoke to the Lord, but it records his words as commanding the sun. The verse says, “At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord.” And then it records, “And he said in the sight of all Israel, ‘Sun, stand still at Gibeon.’”

It then confirms that the Lord took that as Joshua speaking to Him, for the response is that the Lord listens and acts on Joshua’s word. The Scriptures say, “There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel.”

Jesus spoke to the waves and they quieted down. He spoke to the fig tree and it withered. Jesus was not just a man. He had the authority to speak to creation. He is the One who created it.

Christ in us must have the same authority. But it’s not of the “name it and claim it” variety. God does not heed the voice of man telling Him what He should be doing and how to do it. That’s the same old sin of wanting to be God creeping back in, the sin of the garden just finding new ways to mess with God’s children.

Only in selflessness and at the Spirit’s direction should we ever speak in such a way. When I hear people tell stories about controlling the weather with their authority they claim, I always wonder if they had asked God for wisdom.

What if that rain was really important to someone else? How much of their motivation was selfish? Why weren’t they trusting God to take care of it if something needed taking care of? Why did they feel they needed to step in and set it “right” as if God had failed to do His job?

This chapter points out how unusual it was for God to allow man to command like that. Yes, it can happen. But no, even Jesus, who certainly did have all the authority possible, didn’t go around commanding smooth paths, sunny skies, and bountiful food to make his life comfortable and pleasurable.

We are not God. We are not Jesus. We live our life in the flesh by faith in Jesus. We are not Him. We are not gods. Satan wants us to play at God. It’s the sin of the garden. Don’t fall for the temptation.