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by Charlie Wolcott

God has mastery over inanimate objects – tools, weapons, and even celestial objects. When I started this series, I addressed how when God does miracles, He intercedes upon the natural order He established. God did set up a natural order for which things would happen by the laws of science that we have only recently discovered and were able to articulate. Gravity, forces, momentum, chemical reactions, biological activity, etc. were all established by God and do what He has told them to do.

There are two major events in the Bible outside of Creation itself in which God controlled solar objects. The most well know is Joshua’s long day. Joshua was in a battle, claiming the Promised Land for his people, and he knew that when the sun set it would turn the tide, so he commanded the sun to stand still. And the sun did not move from its spot for about a 24-hour period. Some people claim this is an argument for a flat earth or a geocentric model, but this was ultimately a statement about perspective, not a scientific model of the solar system. We still talk about the sunrise and sunset daily in weather reports and the phrase “the sun went behind a cloud” is still used, when in actuality, it was a cloud that moved in front of the sun. But what we can say is the Bible records the sun not moving from a human, “on earth” perspective for about a day.

The other incident was when King Hezekiah faced an illness. He immediately sought the Lord, and Isaiah came to reveal that God would extend his life 15 years. It seems that Hezekiah had doubts that God indeed meant that so the kings was asked which sign would validate the word. Hezekiah asked for the sun’s shadow to go backwards ten steps. He was asking for a reversal of the flow of time, and God gave it to him. Now whether the sun’s position in the sky actually went back ten steps or whether God simply shifted the shadow is not explicitly said, but we know that this was a completely impossible thing to happen in the natural. Hezekiah knew this, which is why he made that request. To push it ten steps forward would have been too easy.

A big argument that creationists have to deal with is the fabled “Starlight Distance Problem.” The argument is this: these stars are so many billion light years away, how can we see them if the universe is only 6000 years old? This argument assumes pure naturalism as the explanation, however, God has mastery over this physical universe including stars and the light they emit. We know this for certain: the stars were made on Day 4 and man, when he was created on Day 6, could see them. The mechanism is not explicitly given. But that said, the scientists are still trying to figure out exactly what light is, let alone how it really works. I’m certain the more we learn, the more we’ll find out that the actual description of the physical universe will only reveal the Bible was right all along.

God does these miracles for more than just celestial objects. Elisha made an ax head float. We all know the laws of buoyancy, and metal doesn’t float. Yet here, a man had borrowed an ax head, which was not cheap, and he likely would have to sell something major, possibly himself as a slave, to pay it back. So, Elisha caused the ax head to float so it could be retrieved. I can easily see God reaching down, picking it up, and simply supporting it on top of the water. This is not a violation of physics, but an intercession through the natural realm. God didn’t change the law of gravity or of liquid pressures to do this miracle. He simply picked it up the same way we would.

I mentioned earlier in this series about a pastor/missionary friend of mine who planted several churches in Juarez, Mexico. A gang of three men entered and attempted to shoot him, but the gun never went off, until he left the church and some in the congregation pursued them.

God controls many other objects as well. One pastor was in a near panic because he was bi-vocational and he lost his secondary job and the benefits that went with it. For three years he didn’t have a secondary job and God finally told him: “Did you notice throughout those three years, you never had a major appliance break down, a major car repair, or any medial issues?” God preserved this pastor’s resources so he would get through without the second job.

Sometimes God will kill an engine or make it so you can’t find keys readily to delay you on the road so you are not in the wrong place at the wrong time and get killed in a wreck. Sometimes, he’ll provide you a “bubble” while driving so you don’t have to face traffic while merging. I have seen that happen with my mom, who doesn’t like driving in the city. God will take the inanimate objects and position them to do what He needs done and ultimately so we will recognize He did it and give Him glory.

God is the master of this universe. He created it and can do with it whatever He pleases. While I would suggest God encourages us to seek out His mind as we study His creation, let us never get to a point where we want to become “academics” and/or “theologians” for that purpose and in the process lose the awe and wonder and worship of our Creator.

Next week, I will conclude this series with one final post on the greatest miracles of all: the resurrection and the Christian.

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