Matthew 18:10 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father, who is in heaven."
In my quiet time with my Lord yesterday, and some the day before, the Lord began giving me thoughts about His angels. I feel that each of us have an angel assigned to us from birth, watching over us, ready to intervene, lend a hand, steady us, protect us as the Father leads them to. I do not believe they do anything without the voice of our God instructing them to do so. Everything the angels do is at the bidding and command of the Lord God Almighty. But they are there, keeping watch over us, never far, just there. Have you ever caught a glimpse of movement near you and no one was there, but you felt incredibe ease, it was not fearful. I believe sometimes we actually get a glimpse of the movement of those sweet, heavenly spirits that never leave us. But this is not where my heart went, where my spirit took me concerning the angels.
The angels were present at the birth of our Savior. I do not believe they ever left His side from the time He was born until He returned to His position next to our Father. They never left Him. From the time He was born, learning to walk, playing, doing all the normal things of a child, and then those unusual things that He would do; speaking in the temple to the priests. Mary and Joseph truly had no fear for the angels were keeping watch over Jesus and no harm would come to Him....then.
My heart has just grieved as I thought of these angels. I believe just as the Holy Spirit is present with us, loving us, grieving over us, that angels have these emotions also. Not in the same manner, but I believe all of God's creations have emotions. It is the way of our God who has such emotion, such beautiful emotion, and so, He gave it to all creations. The angels, how they loved our Lord Jesus. They came from heaven where they had been worshiping Him for so long, followed Him to earth as He became a baby. I am sure they enjoyed the good times, rejoicing over Him as a child, full of emotion as Mary and Joseph loved Him, cherished Him. When the Kings came to give honor to Him, and pay tribute to Him, the angels sang loud and clear as they did when the shepherds came. Glory to God in the Highest, Hallelujah; what beauty filled the skies with their song.
Then came the temptation from satan. I think satan was boasting in front of them, acting like he could tempt their charge, our Savior, into sin. When he failed, I feel these angels rejoiced and sang again, filling the skies with glorious melodies. And then, in the garden, as they stood watch, they saw the soldiers come and take Him. As they watched, they saw their Beloved beaten, stuck over and over, and could do nothing. Can you imagine their desire to step in and simply dismantle those soldiers, strike dead the Jewish leaders for wanting the Son of God destroyed because they were jealous, because they were afraid of losing their followers to Jesus? But the angels could do nothing, because it was not the will of the Father. So all they could do was watch, and weep.....
They were on the road as He came up that hill. Wanting to take the cross from Him, wanting to lift Him up on their wings and take Him away from this torture....but could not. It was not the Father's will. On the cross, as their Lord cried of His thirst, they could do nothing. But they never left His side, they were always there, watching and waiting for word from God to step in and take care of Jesus, their charge. I believe they were inside the tomb with Jesus when His spirit descended into hell, and when He arose, again their voices filled the skies with Hallelujahs, and Glory in the Highest. For now their Jesus, the Beloved of Heaven, was again alive, restored, and they could cease their tears and sing of heaven's joy.
We, I know I have, have made my angel cry. I believe my angel has had to watch sometimes while I went through things, not able to help, but waiting as the Lord has brought me low so I could recognize His mercy, His love and grace. So I could be brought back to the cross to realize the reason my Savior died, the reason the angels cried, the reason I now live in freedom from sin. And when I came back to my God, knowing that I loved Him with all my heart and would never leave His side again, I know the angels sang, filling the heavenlies with Joy, Joy, Blessed Joy; Hallelujahs.
All of us have angels, each watching and waiting for the Father's word to come to us, to lift us up, to steady us on our way, to keep us from harm. But all they can do is watch until told to act. We, also, should watch, and wait until told to act on behalf of others. So often we want to jump in and fix things, protect, lift up. So often it happens with children. We don't want them to be harmed, we don't them going through hard times, trials, punishment. But it is not always the will of the Father for us to intervene. Sometimes we keep the Lord from being able to draw them close to Himself when we step in. When we do so, sometimes it keeps them from coming to God, and they continue to go through battles, until finally we hear, and pay attention to what the Lord is saying, and know we should keep watch and wait.
Father, help us all to keep watch and wait on You, on Your command to move and help. Let us learn to trust You in all things, ourselves, and our loved ones. Let us know when to act and when to step back and just watch. And just wait on You.
12-11-11
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