He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (Psalm 91:1-4)
When I was going to seminary at Emory University in Atlanta, I had a scary moment that I will never forget. I was traveling on Piedmont Avenue near downtown after midnight, returning home from an event. There were no other cars around at that moment, and I was leery of being in this area at such an hour.
Then, a terrible thing happened. My car’s lights went out, the engine shut down, and I coasted to a stop. The car would not restart. I got out and looked around, having no idea what to do next. There were no cell phones at that time, no nearby phone booth. I raised the hood but saw nothing unusual, based on my limited mechanical ability. I was helpless. Immediately, in the distance an old pickup truck appeared, heading in my direction. I didn’t know whether to be afraid or thankful. Should I wave for help, or get back in the car?
No matter, the truck pulled up behind me and an older fellow in what looked like mechanic’s work clothes got out and approached. “Need some help?” he asked. “Well yes, my car just quit. I don’t know what’s wrong.”
He went to the front of the car, looked under the hood, loosened the battery holder, lifted the battery and showed me a broken wire. (That was fast, I thought.) He said, “These Chevy Camaros have a problem where the tiny ground wire gets under the battery and it wears in two!” Lifting up the two frazzled ends of the wire, he said, “Look here!” He pulled out pliers, spliced and taped it back together, and said, “Now start her up!”
Once back in the car, I put the key in the ignition, and it fired right up! I looked out my window to see the old pickup already heading down the street. I didn’t even get the chance to say thank you.
Now, what’s your opinion? Was that a coincidence … that a truck with a mechanic in it, who knew about the particular and unusual problem of this car, who had the tool and tape in his pocket to fix it, who drove away before I realized he was leaving, and all this after midnight? There is no doubt in my mind that he was an angel God sent to help me.
I know we call kind people an “angel” sometimes, and that is OK, but I hope you understand that humans are not angels. They are two different beings. Having read sometime before this incident a book by Billy Graham called Angels: God’s Secret Agents, the experience I had was very similar to the many stories in that book. So, when this event comes to my mind, even now, I remember that God sent me one of his angels. It is a reminder of the reality of God and his watch care over me. It renews my spirit and my conviction that God is always with me. Whenever I have doubts or difficult moments, remembering this event wipes the doubts away.
Psalm 91 will tell you how God cares for you. When I think about that night in Atlanta, these verses stand out to me …
Psalm 91:3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler.
Psalm 91:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Psalm 91:11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.
There is a condition stated back in verse 1 … that you “dwell” in him. Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Your dwelling is your home. God wants us to know that our home is in him. Make God your home and abide in His shadow. He’s got you “covered.”
Blessings,
Chaplain Mark
Thank you for sharing, I also had an angel sent to rescue me when I was snow skiing in Switzerland. You don’t really realize that the person is an angel until they are gone and you look back and realize ” that had to have been an angel”, it will forever stay with you.
We had a similar experience. We were stuck on top of a Colorado mountain in the midst of a snowstorm. There was no hint of life anywhere around. When Craig left to get help, I was sure we were both as good as dead. He came back later with two men who pulled us out and disappeared as fast as they showed up. I know they were angels.
Amen! Beautiful lesson!