Protected by an Angel

 

When I was about ten years old, my father sent my sister and I to a room to refill a kerosene lamp one night. It was a small room and the kerosene jelly can was normally placed near the door. We got into the room and refilled the lamp. We had a matchbox and we tried to lit the lamp. But anytime the lit match stick got near the wick it would get extinguished. It was like somebody was blowing it off.

After trying several times without success we gave up. We left the room and went back to the kitchen which was outside the main building. We reported the strange phenomenon to father. When he heard what we were saying, he immediately stood up. He took the lamp and run out of the room. That surprised me even more, what was going on?

He came back with a wet lamp; he had cleaned it. What we had put into the lamp was not kerosene but petrol. My elder brother had left it at home and dad had placed it next to kerosene. We had no idea what petrol looked or smelt like. So who was this invisible person who was blowing out the matchsticks? What stopped the petrol in the lamp and open jelly can from exploding into flames?

Psalm 34 was written by David at one of the very darkest days of his wanderings. He was between a rock and a hard place. He had narrowly escaped death among the Philistines. He was still a hunted man with King Saul determined to kill him. He was hiding in a cave when he wrote the psalm. In verse 7 he wrote “The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear him and delivers them”. 

The word “angel” means, “messenger.”  There are thousands upon thousands angels (Dan. 7:10, Rev. 5:11). These ministering spirits are sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). Angels are normally invisible but in some cases they take the human form. In Genesis 19:1 the “two angels” who arrived at Sodom (Gen. 19) and the angel who announced the birth of Samson (Judges 13) resembled human beings.

Inside that cave, David knew that the cave was only a physical symbol of divine protection. He knew there was an angelic camp all around him. He could not see the angelic presence around him, but he knew it was real. The men with David in the cave saw nothing but cold gray stone. They saw a lonely hillside, with the wind moaning among the rocks.

Possibly as he sat there in his shelter he thought of Jacob, who, in his hour of defenseless need, was encouraged by angels. After stealing his brother’s birthright, Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. At sun set he lay down to sleep. He had a dream in which he saw a stairway from earth to heaven. The angels of God were ascending and descending on it (Gen. 28:12).

Some 20 years later God told him to go back home (Gen 31:3). Jacob knew he must face the threat of his brother Esau (Gen. 27:41).  He needed to know the Lord is on his side in his peril and God gave this assurance to him. Just before he met Esau, the angels of God met Jacob. When he saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim (two camps) (Gen 32:1-2).

Jacob observed he was in a double camp. He was not alone; God had a camp of angels to be with him at Mahanaim.  It was not that God’s angels just joined Jacob; they were with him the entire time. In some way, angelic beings that are normally unseen were now made visible to him. Seeing the encampment of the Lord’s army encouraged Jacob to press on and meet Esau.

Towards the end of his life, Jacob spoke of “The God who has been my shepherd all my life long to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all evil (Gen. 48 : 15,16). Jacob was conscious of the ever present God and the protective invisible agents who ministered to him until the end of life. The only reason he had made it through life was because of their help.

The King of Syria sent an army to surround Prophet Elisha. The servant saw the vast army and was terrified. The prophet prayed “Lord, open his eyes that he may see” (2 Kings 6:16–17). The Lord allowed the servant to see the invisible reality that was around them. For Elisha the spiritual world was real. He did not ask for the angels to show up but for his servant to see they were already there.

We read in Genesis 19:15, “the angels urged Lot, saying, “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” God in His mercy sent His angels to deliver Lot and his family from this great catastrophe. The angels literally dragged Lot and his family out of the city and begged them to flee, before the entire cities were swept away by God.

In 1 Kings 19 Elijah was threatened by Queen Jezebel, that she would take his life at any cost. Elijah fled from Jezebel’s presence through the wilderness. In complete exhaustion he sat under a broom tree and begged God to take his life. The Lord sent His angel to provide bread and water to Elijah. The angel did his twice until Elijah was strengthened to carry on with his journey.

Daniel spent an entire night in the den of savage and hungry lions. The Lord sent his angel to shut the mouth of those lions, so that they would do Daniel no harm. Daniel came out unscathed. The king ordered his accusers to be thrown into the same cage. And, before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions broke all their bones in pieces (Dan.6).

Peter’s life was in jeopardy; he was in prison bound with two chains and sixteen Roman soldiers were guarding his cell. One angel of the Lord was sufficient, to handle this situation. The angel came through the prison doors and stood right next to Peter. No door, no chains or soldiers could prevent the angel from bringing deliverance to Peter (Acts 12:3-19).

Psalm 91 says that if the Lord is your refuge and you make him your dwelling, ^“no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent; for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways (vv.9-12). The angels will, when necessary, turn your steps out of the way of danger; ward it off when it comes in your ordinary path.

As humans we are tempted to conclude that the only real things are those we experience with our five senses. Yet there is another realm of reality, just as real as anything we see. If we had open spiritual eyes we would see not only a world filled with evil spirits but also powerful angels. When we face dangers we become fearful because we do not realize how close these ministering angels are to us.

But it’s good to understand that angels do not rescue God’s children from every difficult situation. Sometimes, for reasons only known to God, the angels are not allowed to do so. God could have provided his son with more than twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:53) but he did not. An angel was sent to prison to rescue Peter but no angel was sent to rescue James (Acts 12) and Stephen (Acts 7).

God did not send angels to rescue Jesus because he had to die for our salvation. The early death of James, one of the three closest disciples of Jesus, tells us that the promised long life (Ps. 91: 15, 16) is not necessarily physical. James’ death was not a disaster, he did not perish, he went home. James will live eternally. Jesus said” I give them (my sheep) eternal life and they will never perish” (John 10:28), the one who believes in me will live, even if he dies” (John 11:25)

Paul was there when Stephen died (Acts 7:54-60). What he saw and heard that day transformed him completely and he became the greatest Apostle of all time. If God does not protect you, then he has purposes that are greater than your deliverance. Even if you do not live long enough to see the bigger picture, others will see it and say that God “has done all things well” (Luke 7:37).

Sometimes Satan will carry out his schemes to destroy us, but we must rest assured that our lives are secure in the hands of God. Many people are unable to sleep because their minds are crowded with innumerable anxious thoughts that rid them of peace and rest. The guarantee we have as children of God is that our life is preserved by our Almighty God and no evil will befall us without his Lord permission.

Nothing can hinder God’s presence or prevail against His might. It does not really matter who rises up against us or how complex the situation that we find ourselves in is, God’s word assures us that His angels will protect us wherever we go. As long as we live here on earth the Lord has promised to send His angels to keep us safe and secure.

These behind-the-scenes agents are there whether we see them or not. We do not know how many providential deliverance's we owe to them. We don’t know what they are doing in our lives right now. Whether they are repelling demons, counteracting spiritual plots or warding off diseases, we do not know. But we shall one day stand amazed at the diverse services which the angels have rendered to us.