What if the Earth Really Stood Still?

Yesterday in Children’s Church we were in Joshua 10. You know the story, Joshua’s famous battle against the five kings of Canaan. The day the earth stood still. The battle was raging all day and when the sun was high in the sky, Joshua prayed that night would be delayed, that the sun would stand still.

And God miraculously answered his prayer. The sun and moon stood still.

Of course, we understand the earth stopped spinning on its axis and hung still in space.

That got me thinking. What would be the physical effects on the earth if it suddenly stopped spinning?

The earth, as we know, makes one full revolution every 24 hours. It seems to move slowly. We all know how a day can crawl by. But really, the earth spins at about 1,000 miles per hour. Not so slowly.

And that means everything on the earth is spinning at 1,000 miles per hour. People, buildings, trees, water, air . . . everything.

Are you getting the picture yet? If the earth were to stop its spin, everything on the earth would continue moving at 1,000 mph. Trees would be ripped from the ground, buildings would be leveled, water would race onto land masses, flattening everything in its way. Winds would blow at 1,000 mph, scouring the earth like steel wool. People would tumble about like dust bunnies. Not to mention the effect it would have on worldwide temperatures, the tides, the gravitational pull, and more (though none of this would matter after all of the above happened). It would be destruction like this earth has never seen before (except maybe during the great flood).

I point this out not to disprove the account in Joshua. I believe wholeheartedly the earth did stop and the sun and moon did stand still. God fought that battle for the Israelites like He did so many others. I point this out to bring to light the fact that the miracle was not merely that God stopped the earth in its revolution, but that He also suspended the effects of that sudden halt.

God is truly the God of all things. Nothing is beyond His powerful reach.

Now, if God is so powerful to stop the earth and control the destruction that should have followed, is there any question whether He’s powerful enough to deal with our circumstances? Think about it.