“He (God) protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled.” Joshua 24:17b.
What an amazing scripture for us to hold close to our hearts! As I found this for today’s devotional, I was in awe of how God enabled this scripture to leap off the page for our particular discussion. Let’s begin with a short story about God’s brilliant and supernatural protection:
Mbweni had become deeply involved in the rebel movement. He felt sympathy for their cause and wanted to help them in whatever way he was able to. He had worked at the large mission station about 10km from his village for several years. He knew who lived in each house on the compound and the schedules which each family kept. He had even been inside several of the houses and knew the layout of the rooms. No one else in the group knew the mission compound as well as Mbweni.
The time had come to carry out the raid his group had planned for several weeks. By the end of this night no one would be left alive on the mission compound. He and his group were well prepared. There were many and they were well armed. They could easily overcome the two old night-guards who slept and took turns walking around the compound.
As Mbweni and his large group silently approached the compound fence they suddenly stopped in amazement and fear! Where had this large number of guards come from? Had the people on the compound been warned about Mbweni and his group? And what strange swords that glowed with fire, did the guards hold in their hands? The guards looked strong and there were many of them. After a short discussion in whispers, Mbweni and his men decided to cancel the attack. The guards clearly outnumbered their group.
Some months later Mbweni was put into prison by the government for his participation in the rebel movement. Two years after the incident took place, a missionary from that compound was visiting the prison. As the missionary talked with Mbweni, Mbweni related how his group had been frightened away by the large number of guards with their strange swords. Mbweni asked the missionary how they had learned of the attack and where they had hired so many guards. To Mbweni’s amazement, the missionary said that no extra guards had been hired and that only the two regular night guards had been on duty that night.
Isn’t God just absolutely amazing! I love to hear stories such as these. In this one particularly, we see God use an army of angels to protect his warriors in ministry living in this missionary compound. This whole devotional could be on angels, there is so much about them I wish we had time to study! But keeping to the lesson at hand, the angels that were used in this testimony were called Cherubim, which were the same angels we see in Genesis 3:24 after the fall of man. “After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
At this point in Genesis, Adam and Eve had not resisted temptation and had fallen to the ways of the world. In their sinful nature, they were then banished from the garden. In the mixed emotions of watching the two leave the oasis God had given them to a life of turmoil and sin, we see God in his magnificent grace protect them by providing Cherubim to guard the entrance. If Adam and Eve had tried to return to the garden and eat from the Tree of Life, they would forever remain in their fallen state.
Just as God protected Adam and Eve from further harm, he protected the missionaries from the rebel movement led by Mbweni through His mighty soldiers, the Cherubim (Genesis 3:24, Ezekiel 1:11). I like to imagine in our journey of almost 8,000 miles to the southern province of Zambia, Africa – angels hovering over the team, invisible yet grand in their appearance, flying the distant course to protect us as we join God in His work among the Tonga people. Yes, I have 2 young children at home so sometimes our imaginations run a little wild. However, the truth about God’s unfailing protection stands firm. This is most eloquently stated by the author of Psalm 91. Let’s make this scripture our prayer this week:
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.
If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High 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; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
"Because he loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
In Jesus Christ’s holy and powerful name, Amen.
Story used in this devotional was written from:
O'Donovan, Wilbur. "Chapter 10,The Christian and the Spirit World." Biblical Christianity in African Perspective. 2Rev ed. Carlisle: Paternoster P, 1996. 176-86.
No comments:
Post a Comment