For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name’ (Psalm 91:11-14, NIV).
When we come to Jesus Christ in a personal relationship, He takes full responsibility for us, which means He takes care of us. One of the ways God cares for us is through the ministry of His angels as they help us and protect us.
2 Kings 6:16-17 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, ‘O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
There was an ongoing conflict between Israel and the empire of the king, Ben-Hadad. Elisha constantly revealed the secret plans of this Syrian King to the king of Israel.
When the King of Syria found out, he sent an army to capture Elisha. While Elisha was getting dressed that morning, his servant came running to him in fear. He told Elisha that they were surrounded by the King’s army and that the soldiers were carrying powerful weapons of war. Elisha was not disturbed by this news. He told the servant not to be afraid because “our army is bigger and better than their army.” The servant was confused because he could not see any army ready to fight for Elisha. Elisha then prayed and asked God to open the eyes of this servant and allow him to see God’s protective angels. “Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
God’s angels protect His children from potential enemies.
Psalm 91:11-14 “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.’”
In this passage, “command” means “to order or assign,” “guard” means “to observe and care for” and “acknowledges” means “to know intimately.” In other words, when we know God and have a personal relationship with Him, He assigns angels to watch over us and to help carry out His plan for our lives.
Hebrews 1:14 “But angels are only servants. They are spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive salvation.”
Angels are motivated by their great love for God and are committed to seeing that the will of God is carried out. Most Christians can recall some incident in which their lives have been miraculously saved from disaster. Perhaps a car missed them by inches. An airplane flight was planned, but for some reason, was not taken only to later discover that the plane had crashed. They did not see angels but their presence could easily explain why tragedy was avoided.
John G. Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides islands. One night, hostile natives surrounded his mission headquarters, shouting threats that they would burn the Paton’s home and then kill them. Paton and his wife prayed all night long. At dawn, they were amazed to see the natives turn and leave. A year later, the chief of that very tribe became a Christian. Paton asked him what had kept him and his men from burning down their house and killing them that night. The chief asked, “Who were all of those men with you?” Paton assured the chief that there had been no one there except him and his wife. The chief shook his head and insisted that they had seen hundreds of men standing guard, big men in shining garments with drawn swords.
Scripture is filled with accounts that describe how many of God’s servants were delivered from danger. It also tells how many servants of God were not delivered by angels.
Hebrews 11:35-39 “Others were tortured; some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, and mistreated.”
These men had faith, and courage and were obedient. Time after time, they must have cried out to God for angels to come – but none came. Why? Hebrews 11:40 tells us that God had a better plan. “To live by faith is better than deliverance by angels.” These saints were not physically delivered but they still lived by faith and died by faith enduring pain and suffering, counting on the grace of God to sustain them.
Because of their great faith, these “medal of honor” Christians received a greater reward in heaven.
Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
These saints knew that if God said “no” to their request for deliverance, there was a reason. It was part of His plan. If you are like me, there are times when, for the life of me, I cannot understand God’s plan and furthermore, even if I understand it, it is just plain hard to accept. Jesus understands. When Jesus faced the cross, He asked God to deliver Him but God said, “No.”
Matthew 26:39 “He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."
Angels do exist and they do touch our lives. Look around. Listen carefully. Walk by faith. The angels are with you.
Scripture tells us how angels protected and delivered many of the servants of God. Read the following Bible passages and fill in the blanks. Then celebrate God’s work in the lives of these saints and your own life.
Peter was delivered from ________________ by an angel. (Acts 12:5-11)
Paul received a message of ____________ from an angel. (Acts 27:23-25)
An angel saved the life of Abraham’s ____________. (Genesis 22:15)
An angel saved _________________ in the lion’s den. (Daniel 6:22)
An angel appeared to Moses in the ____________ _________. (Acts 7:30)
An angel rolled the ___________________ away from Jesus’ tomb. (Matthew 28:2)
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