Journey of a Disciple #3

The Holy Bible tells that angels are real and watching over us, even though we may not always recognize them: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

I Believe in Angels

Ever since I was eight years old and in the third grade, I have known about angels and how they guide and protect us.

Riding my bicycle home from the grocery store one Saturday morning, I was struck by a car and knocked into the ditch. The car didn’t stop to check on me. A little ruffled but otherwise unharmed, I brushed myself off and rode safely home. Mother met me at the door and could easily see my dirty shirt. Showing no surprise she asked, “Are you alright?” When I told her what had happened and she could see that I was okay she said, “I knew you would be safe because I prayed to God that he would send his angels to protect you.” From that moment on I knew that angels were real, even if I couldn’t see them.

In 2018 I was involved in a car wreck and woke up in a hospital. I barely remember the accident but will never forget how I was saved by an angel.

The accident occurred in the country. For miles around there was no one but me. I hit a guard rail and totaled the car. I later learned that a young woman named Rachel found me and took me to the hospital. I never saw her, never heard her voice, but I knew without a doubt that God had sent an angel to rescue me.

God has always revealed himself through the ministry of angels. In chapter six of the Book of Daniel, God sent an angel to close the jaws of the lions after Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den. And we all know about the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

In her book, The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom tells of her remarkable experience in the Nazi concentration camp at Ravensbruck. Upon arrival, she and her sister Betsie, along with all the other women prisoners were told to remove all their clothes and put them in a pile. They were then handed their prison dress.

Guards then searched the women before taking them to their barracks. Corrie had a Bible hidden in her clothing, along with some woolen underwear for her sister. Those items made a bulge in her dress and could easily be detected by the guards who searched the women again before taking them to their barracks.

Before the final search, Corrie ten Boom prayed, “Lord, cause now thine angels to surround me, and let them not be transparent today, for the guards must not see me.” The woman in front of her had hidden a woolen vest under her dress. It was taken from her. They let Corrie pass, for they did not see her. Betsie right behind her was searched.

Miracles happen today like they did in the Old Testament and the New Testament times. Angels continue to minister in our lives today, as they have throughout all of history. They watch over us and protect us, and they guide us in the right paths of life. We may not see or hear them, but they are real and they are all around us.*

*from my book, Journey of a Disciple, at www.amazon.com

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Gene Groner, author and biographer