1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills-- From whence comes my help?2My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.3He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.4Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.5The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 46 that He is an ever-present help in time of trouble. So, if we are convinced that God is with us, then we can rest assured that by His presence, He will sustain us and direct us. Plus, He will protect us according to His will, using His angels, or by sending someone along at just the right time to pray for us or minister to us in some way.
I realized earlier today just how much of an emphasis the writer of Hebrews placed on angels. In fact, the whole 1st chapter of the book deals with the differences between angels and humans and he concluded the chapter with verse 14:
14Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
He's not finished - chapter 2 opens like this:
1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.2For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,3how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,4God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
My goodness, there certainly is a high degree of supernatural activity concerning the operation of God's Spirit and the angels that are present and at work all around us. Consider this story from Jim Denison:
Katie Lentz, a sophomore at Tulane University, was driving on the highway when her car collided with another vehicle near Center, Missouri. Her vehicle was crushed into a ball of sheet metal, lying on the driver's side. Emergency workers tried for more than 45 minutes to free her. Pieces of equipment broke and the team was running out of options. Lentz was calm, but her vital signs were beginning to fail.
The firefighters then decided to set the vehicle upright. This was a last-ditch effort to save her, as the movement could exacerbate her injuries. When she asked if someone would pray for her, a voice said, "I will." A silver-haired priest in his 50s or 60s stepped forward. The emergency personnel thought his presence odd, as the street was blocked two miles from the accident.
He prayed openly with Katie, then anointed her with oil. Things then moved quickly. Firefighters sat the car upright, Katie's vital signs improved, and a rescue team from a neighboring community suddenly appeared with fresh equipment and tools. Lentz was removed and flown to the hospital. She broke both femurs, a tibia and fibula, her left wrist and nine ribs, and lacerated her liver, ruptured her spleen and bruised her lung. Nonetheless, she is expected to recover.
Denison then shares what he considers the most amazing part of the story: When the rescue team went back to thank the priest, he was gone. No one from area churches knew who he was. The fire chief took 69 photos of the accident, including scenes where the priest participated, but he is not in any of them. Katie's mother believes he could have been an angel.
He could have been an angel. A messenger sent by God into a particular situation.
Turns out he wasn't. John Stossel of Fox News reports that he has been identified as the Rev. Patrick Dowling of the Jefferson City Diocese.
A press release provided to FoxNews.com by the diocese said Father Dowling had been travelling Highway 19 in northern and central Missouri when he arrived near the crash scene Aug. 4.
Dowling actually identified himself in a comment posting on a story about his actions on the National Catholic Register website Friday night. The posting, one among many, appeared to go unnoticed for several days.
So, instead of an angel, here is someone whom God placed in the right place at the right time to pray with this young girl whose life was in danger. And, the press coverage can certainly be used to turn people's minds toward the things of God. It's a great reminder that God is at work all around us. It may be through angels - Denison asked for people to submit "angel stories" through his column, and people submitted over 100. It could be that he will send someone to pray for you or speak words of encouragement to you - just as Amanda Crabb related on yesterday's program. Or, He could send you to minister in a particular time and place - and that's why we have to be ready. It's said that you could be someone's answer to prayer.
And just because the priest at the Missouri accident has been identified, we still can acknowledge that as part of God's supernatural operation, He will use angelic beings. Denison writes:
The Bible says that angels are "ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:14). It adds that we sometimes meet "angels unawares" (Hebrews 13:2). In a skeptical culture which measures reality by what we can prove, it's good to remind ourselves occasionally that God's presence is more pervasive and powerful than we can imagine.Events that cannot be explained away - supernatural activity - all part of how God works for His glory!
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