Dear Friends,
“…Are (the angels) not all ministering spirits that serve Him – whom He sends out to render service for the sake of those who shall be heirs of salvation?” (Heb. 1:13,14)
We have all heard stories of angelic intervention on the mission field when murderous natives were fended off by strange “armed guards” surrounding the mission compound, or by “giant warriors in shining white” standing guard. More recently we have heard of more contemporary events. One of them was an African Christian who, while in a refugee camp in Zaire, was surrounded by a number of the enemy with machetes who threatened to kill him and his young daughter. In desperation he called on God for help. A great Light suddenly descended upon the group; the men dropped their weapons and fled! The man, now miraculously re-united with his two brothers who survived the genocide, are in Canada, singing the Gospel in beautiful harmony!
There are also closer-to-home experiences of angelic intervention, as
—when David fell through the collapsing roof of our old car-port onto the ground where a trailer is normally stored, and next to a brick that would have been injurious had he landed on it. He walked away without injury!
—when our teen-age daughter’s car hit black ice, spun out across two lanes of highway, and ended up on its side in the ditch between a barbed-wire fence and a concrete overpass abutment. No injuries and no damage!
—when Elisabeth’s van slid off an icy road and came to rest against a tree which prevented it from crashing down an extremely steep embankment. Not a scratch or bruise!
—when her vehicle was broadsided by a huge waste disposal truck that went through a stop sign at a highway intersection. Again, no one was hurt and they were able to replace the vehicle!
How often have we had close encounters with disaster that we didn’t know about, or were unaware of? And how often have we had such close encounters that left us breathlessly thanking God for His protection? Even when we have had some real scrapes, we most always realize that it could have been so much worse than it was. And no matter what the outcome, our times are in the hands of a loving God Who has a purpose for each of His children, and we are safely His “by life or by death.” (Ps. 31:14,15a; 106:3; Jer. 29:11; Phil. 1:20)
After the event to which I referred last week when my Nissan Quest mini-van became a “write-off” because of the fire, we were so very thankful that there was no explosion, that David suffered no injury, that it was covered by insurance, that so many “happened” by to help, and that it hadn’t happened when I was driving it alone.
Then there was the occasion when our youngest son hooked up the utility trailer to take some trash from his building site to the dump. As he proceeded down a busy city street, he suddenly realized that the trailer had become detached and was careening toward the median. If the trailer were to jump the median and hit the heavy oncoming traffic, it would be a disastrous situation. Joel quickly maneuvered his vehicle and was able to successfully stop the progress of the trailer. Learning about the incident later left me with an overwhelming sense of thanksgiving, sufficient to express it in verse:-
Could I sing like a lark in sweet-throated sounds
Giving praise to our God for His grace which abounds;
Or write like a poet in phrases sublime
Giving thanks to the Lord in profound paradigm;
Or speak like an orator in language divine
Giving honor to Christ, the sun to outshine,
‘Twould be not enough to express gratitude
For all of His goodness of great magnitude;
His faithfulness reaches beyond what we know,
His mercies daily from His Spirit outflow,
His Guardian Angels sent to safeguard His own
When they’re not aware, or their need is unknown.
Lord, hasten the day when our voices will be
As sweet as the angels who sing before Thee;
When we may join in with all Heaven and earth
In worshipping Him Who has giv’n us new birth;
In peace and in safety our voices we’ll raise
In transcendently joyful paeans of praise!
(c) Eulene Hope Moores, 1992
“May God, the giver of hope,
fill you with continual joy and peace because you trust in Him-so that you may have abundant hope
through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
(Romans 15:13 Weymouth)
May the Lord watch over you, and “keep you in all your ways.”
In Agape, Eulene
