Guardian Angels?

Guardian Angels?

He orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone. –Psalm 91:11-12

“I feel like Ben is my little angel taking care of me,” a grieving mom said to me about her son who had died. The idea gave her comfort, and I didn’t want to steal that away from her, but I wanted to direct her to a more solid and significant Comforter. I wanted to tell her that her child did not become an angel when he died, and neither is he burdened with the responsibility of looking after her. People don’t become angels. Angels are their own created order, created by God to serve his saints.

Throughout Scripture we find angels personally involved in protecting God’s people in times of great need. But while angels serve us, they are not our servants. God alone is their Master. When they minister to us, it’s because God has directed them. Our God uses his awesome power in a compassionate, loving way to help those in need. There’s great hope and comfort in knowing that he is concerned about people who hurt, and that he has the power to dispatch one angel or an army of angels to meet our urgent needs. While we have no way of knowing how often our feet are directed onto right paths or how often we are guarded from harm, our invisible companions are ever at hand. They form a protective shield, and over and above them is the everlasting God and Father they serve, the one whom we love, our one and only true source for help and protection.

The Bible gives no indication that angels will respond if we pray directly to them for help. In fact, there are no instances in Scripture of people even asking God to send an angel to protect them. The only person in Scripture who tried to persuade someone else to seek help from an angel was Satan, who quoted Psalm 91 about angelic protection while tempting Jesus in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:5-6). And Scripture gives no basis for assuming angels will serve and help those who are not in God’s family. The Bible describes angels as “spirits sent from God to care for those who will receive salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).

When we focus only on angels and what they can or cannot do, it takes our focus off Jesus. As you think of guardian angels watching over you, be sure to keep your eyes on the one who sent them. Put your trust in God, not in angels.

Guardian of my soul and body, I trust you to take care of me as you see fit, using an army of angels or your own strong arm of protection.

DIGGING DEEPER