Psalm 103 :20 "Bless the LORD, 0 you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!"
Elect angels are actively engaged in God's redemptive plan for mankind. King David in Psalm 103 speaks of the heavenly host most accurately. Unlike the persona of winged infants lounging carelessly upon puffy clouds, God created His angels with specific purposes. These angels dutifully follow their Creator's commands and wholeheartedly obey His voice. The Bible reveals many duties assigned to elect angels, for example: to provide for the needy, to reassure the doubting, and to bring hope to the world.
God dispatched an angel with a heavenly provision. While running from Jezebel, Elijah grew weak. Unable to continue, he came to rest. under a Broom tree and said to the lord, "It is enough...take away my life..." (1Ki. 19:4). As Elijah slept, a heavenly servant touched the prophet and said "arise and eat." When the weary prophet rose up, next to his head sat a jar of water and a baked cake. Elijah's angelic provision strengthened him for forty days and forty nights until he reached the mount of God.
An angel of the Lord relays a message of assurance. In Matthew 28, after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary visited the tomb of Jesus Christ (v.1). They believed the Savior of the world lay upon a stone slab. They doubted the resurrection. But, an angel of the Lord descended and rolled away the stone (v.3), allowing the women to see with their own eyes that Jesus had risen. If this was not enough, the angel reassured them with his words, "He is not here, for he has risen" (v"6). With this angelic assurance they hurried and told the disciples that Jesus had risen.
The arch angel Gabriel delivers a message of hope to a suffering world. Roughly four hundred years had passed since God had sent a prophet to Israel. Making matters worse, Herod the Great, a murderous tyrant, governed God's people. Then one night the arch angel Gabriel visited Mary with an astounding message. "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High..." (Lk. 1:31,32).What a message of hope that came true and saved the lives of those who believe.
Application
Just like the angels, Christians play a crucial role in the redemptive plan of God. As Christians, we are messengers utilized by the hand of God to help a sin shattered world—a world that is now suffering a pandemic. We are to seek out and provide for the poor; to reassure that Christ has risen; and continually bring the message of hope to a lost world. After all, the Greek word for angle also means messenger.
Altar Question
Are you actively seeking ways to be a heavenly servant to everyone around you, especially to those hit the hardest with the Coronavirus?
May God bless and comfort each of you.
Kelly Holland
Comments