Big Words of the Bible - Angels

TJ Addington‘s Weekday Devos Podcast

It was 2007. I was struggling for my life in an ICU room with massive MRSA pneumonia, multiple system failure, a failed mitral valve, tethered to 15 different machines including a ventilator that breathed for me. Each night, one of my siblings or family would spend the night in my room. This night, it was my youngest sister whom I am very close to. She was standing next to the ventilator, heartbroken, sad, and questioning God as to why God had allowed this to happen, and knowing that the doctors did not believe I would live.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and the presence of another in the room with her. In that moment she instantly knew that whatever the outcome, whether I lived or died, it was going to be OK. She turned to see who it was and there was no one there. But she knew that there had been. An angel sent by God to comfort her in a time of need. She sensed it, felt it, and at that moment her heart moved from despair to a place of peace.

References to angels are sprinkled throughout the Bible. In Matthew 18:10, where Jesus talks about those who wander away from Him and need to be rescued he says, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” This is a reference to what we call guardian angels, an unseen presence in our world who are there to minister to us on behalf of God.

Psalm 91:11 says that “he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” The writer of Hebrews reminds us “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).” I can point to several instances where I believe I have met angels sent from God in a time of need. Perhaps you can as well.

Angels are God’s emissaries to us to protect, encourage, intervene on God’s behalf, and carry out His work in this world. If we could see the unseen world around us we would realize how amazingly active God is: on our behalf and in our world generally. The spiritual forces of good and evil are always active. We just don’t see them except from time to time.

As you walk through your day today, remember that you don’t walk alone. The Holy Spirit lives within you, Jesus walks beside you, and untold numbers of angels are active around you. As Paul says in Romans 8, nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Father, thank you for your amazing care for me and for those angels you send to comfort, protect, and encourage. You are an amazing God. Amen