Support Angels … Hello Hump Day readers. The Christmas season is on and I decided to use my Hump Day devotions with a theme of ‘Angels’ since Christmas is that time where angels are singing and proclaiming. It’s been an interesting several weeks of reading about angels—what is Biblical and what is not. There was a lot of stuff out there that was truly NOT how God presents angels to us. With that said, my first devotion will be about how angels support us even at times when we don’t realize it!

We begin with Elisha—don’t worry, we will get to the nativity, but remember, angels appeared long before Jesus arrived on that first Christmas! Back to the story … in 2 Kings, during the time when Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, declared war on Israel, God did a little subterfuge and revealed the king’s battle plans to wipe out the Israelites to the Prophet Elisha. No doubt that gave him some peace and assurance. But he knew it wouldn’t take long before the King would suspect he had a spy in his troops, never realizing that the ‘spy’ was God himself!

The King was tired of being outmaneuvered so many times. He was angry and had his focus on Elisha—he wanted to take him out and his people. So he sent a ‘ginormous’ army to him, knowing his people could never have enough soldiers to fight against his warriors. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, was scared when he saw that the entire city was encircled by the Syrian troops. Where is Elisha? Peacefully sleeping—until Gehazi arrived, screaming in a full-panic mode. So what does Elisha do? Here are his words from 2 Kings 6:16-17 [MSG]: “He said, “Don’t worry about it—there are more on our side than on their side.” Then Elisha prayed, “O God, open his eyes and let him see.” The eyes of the young man were opened and he saw. A wonder! The whole mountainside full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha!”

What Gehazi didn’t realize at first he now saw—an invisible army of angels and they were ready to go to battle at God’s command! How incredible, and how wonderful—this is how God commands his angels to support us in any situation. I would love to speak to Gehazi about that army, wouldn’t you? One minute you feel the lights are out and then all is well. God uses angels that way.

Think back to the time Jesus rebuked Peter for trying to keep him from getting arrested. Jesus didn’t say, “OK, thanks a lot Peter, I appreciate it.” No, he said “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?” [Matthew 26:53 NLT]

So, what do we look for this Christmas? How do we handle the constant demands of those commercials on TV telling us to buy-buy-buy? Are we finding a time of joy for this season or, like my good friend said to me, “sometimes this season is more like war than peace.” It is our choice to make. No matter what we choose, Jesus is still coming and the celebration of his birth will never change.

It’s you and me that need to change! It’s you and me that have to change our focus, right? What soldiers are we seeing in our shopping, our wallets, our dysfunctional families, the hustle and bustle that drags us down in trying to have the best decorations, presents, etc.? When this happens, remember how angels are there to support us. Remember, the ‘battle’ belongs to the Lord. What a gift we have in God’s provision for us. Let’s say it this way: “God’s angels have our backs” and that’s a good thing! AMEN.