Entertaining Angels

“…Angels came and ministered unto him.” Matthew 4:11

What a comfort it is to know that we are never alone and without help. We always have the Lord with us and he has promised to never leave or forsake us. But we also have “Ministering spirits, sent forth to minister unto them who shall be heirs of salvation.” (Hebrews 1:14) We call the ministering spirits Angels. They are sent by God to offer strength and comfort unto us. They can be seen or unseen and we need to be careful enough to be sensitive to them because we may be “Entertaining angels unawares.” (Hebrews 13:2)

We should never ever be afraid to ask help from God. These angels are there to help us in times of weakness. We are not to worship them, but it would help to acknowledge them. We pray to the Father for help and he quickens the angels to do their work. If Jesus, God in the flesh, received help from an angel both in the wilderness and in the Garden of Gethsemane, (Luke 22:43) how much more do you and I as fallen beings need help and strength from them.

The Angel came at a time when it was most needed by Christ, right after his temptation in the wilderness. But also too, it was about to be the beginning of a long three years of proclaiming the kingdom, especially in places where the kingdom of Satan had been given dominion and authority. The angel was not just a source of comfort, but also a source of encouragement and preparation for Jesus. The prophet Elijah, when running for his life, went himself into the wilderness for forty days and was fed by angels so that he might find rest and be strengthened for the next task at hand. (1 Kings 19:5-8)

Finally when Peter was shut up in prison for preaching the Gospel, God sent an angel to lead him out of the prison back to his freedom and proclaiming the good news. (Acts 12:1-10) So whether in temptation, running for ones life, or imprisoned, what encouragement we find in the ministering spirits that God has created and ordained to stand guard and watch over us.

I was saved from a rip current many years ago by an angel. My daughter, in a time when questioning a career path was visited by an angel in a grocery store line. God sent that angel to confirm his will for her life. You too may have had that stranger to come to you out of nowhere in a time when you needed it the most to assist you, protect you, or confirm God’s will for you in that moment. Jesus had his angels that ministered to him and we have our as well. Be careful to entertain strangers, for who knows, you may be “Entertaining angels unawares!”

Pastor Robby