ANGELS ON GUARD

"For He will command His angels concerning you, to guard
you in all your ways."  Psalm 91:11

      One day recently my friend, Kathy, called and said, "Lenore, have you seen any  angels?"

      I replied, "Oh yes, many times."

      "Tell me, did they have wings?"

      "Well, in some instances they had wings, but other I've seen did not, they looked just like people."  Then I told Kathy about an incident that happened soon after I made a commitment to make Jesus Lord of my life.

      At that time, I began reading the Bible for the first time.  The more I read the more confused I became about a lot of theories I had been taught in the church I attended.  It made me skeptical of all church doctrines.

      I was attending a Women's Aglow Bible study with a group of ladies in Temecula, California.  One day Mary, a sweet lady in the group, informed us her father had died.  The funeral was to be held in a church of the denomination I used to attend.  I decided to go with some of the other ladies from the Bible class.

      As I sat in the church I was silently questioning God about whether this man was going to heaven since he embraced the beliefs of the church I wasn't sure belonged to the body of Christ.  I said, "Now Lord, is this man going to heaven?  Is he even saved?"  

      Just at that moment the Lord opened my eyes to see into the Spiritual realm.  Hovering around the casket I saw two large angels with fluttering wings.  They appeared to be guarding the casket in a protective manner.   Instinctively, I knew God was showing me that it was irrelevant which church a person attended.  God looks at a person's heart, and this man's heart was right with God.

      I left the church rejoicing at the revelation that this man was being watched over by angels, just like it says in the Bible in Psalm 91.

      As we gathered at the cemetery for the burial I was further amazed by a vision of Jesus, tenderly smiling, high above the grassy hill, surrounded by a host of people, everyone dressed in white.  By the smiles on their faces they appeared to be rejoicing.  

       I stood there wondering, could this be 'that great cloud or witnesses surrounding us' spoken about in Hebrews 12:1?  Could they be angels, I puzzled.  I had no idea.  But this I'm sure of; this awesome scene filled me with such peace and the assurance that God, in His infinite goodness, cares deeply about each one of us, from the moment of our birth to our last day on earth and beyond.  I am convinced that angels escorted Mary's father to heaven amid great rejoicing by a heavenly host with our tender Shepherd Jesus looking on!

      I went home singing!  It had been quite an exciting day for this rather skeptical Christian.  

      Though many years have passed, that beautiful scene is forever etched in the windows of my mind.  It prompts me to pray, "Oh Lord Jesus, when I am afraid, Help me remember that You have assigned angels to watch over me all my days."