We’ve all heard stories of a child on death’s door who sees glowing beings no one else can see. Or missionary stories of angelic rescue (see below), but are angels involved in our everyday lives? Jesus said that children each have guardian angels (Matthew 18:10), but how involved are they with us, day to day, hour by hour?
Let’s do some cross-referencing! Ephesians 2:6 tells us that God has already seated us in heavenly places. Romans 8:15 says we are adopted as sons and cry, “Abba! Father!” Peter calls us “living stones who are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood.” With just those three references alone, I think it’s safe to cross-reference us, post-Cross believers, with the “he” in Psalm 91, which reads: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:10-13 discusses our supernatural protection:
10 No evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague shall come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Angels ARE real; they ARE all around us. They ARE the reason you swerved before you hit that car or that curb. They ARE the reason you caught yourself before you fell down those stairs. They ARE the reason you were distracted before you saw that ad you didn’t need to see.
I believe that we can thank God for His daily protection! Of course, that begs the question about the temptations and trials that do get through! Don’t blame your angels. Sometimes God does that to temper us like steel (James 1:2-4), and sometimes we walk away from the protection God is affording (1 Tim. 6:10). However, the point I really want to make in this blog is that angels are a component of the spiritual war we joined the moment we switched sides (Col 1:13). As we fight this battle, every day in our devotions and in our interaction, angels are there combating the very demons that are pushing trials and temptations our way. Right now the war doesn’t seem to be going very well in the West, just like in Daniel’s day (Daniel 10:12-14); but just like in Daniel’s day, the writing is on the wall!!!
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer….
Revelation 20:1-3b
So, stop worrying, grab on to your Shield of Faith with both hands and keep your eyes on the Captain of Hope. He’s GOT THIS!
A Fellow Soldier in Jehovah Sabaoth’s Army,
Pastor Scott
John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men with you there?” Paton knew no men were present, but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.
Grace Notes 