TO GOD BE THE GLORY! By Dorothy Richards

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How do you feel about angels? We are told that they are given special assignments, such as when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary telling her that she would be the mother of Jesus; an Angel of the Lord also appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because they were in danger from Herod. He also later appeared to Joseph telling him to return to Israel. All through the Bible there are instances of angels appearing to God's people, sometimes in dreams and sometimes as supernatural, stepping in and out of people's lives. They watch over us and minister to us as they did to Jesus when He was 40 days in the desert. We are also told that they rejoice when we turn from our sin and look to God for our

salvation. In Luke 15 we find the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus says that 'there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine persons who do not need to repent'. As wonderful

as these angels are though, we are told that God created them just as He created all things in heaven and on earth and that they were created to worship Him.

As well as these heavenly guardian angels, we can also experience human angels. How many times in life do you find that at just the right time someone appears in your life who will minister to you, warn you, rejoice with you; the friend who rings just when you are at your lowest; the stranger who comes to your aid even it’s just to hold a door open for you?

When these things happen we are profuse in our thanks – and rightly so. It is natural to thank the 'angel' but we mustn't forget the heavenly hand behind the action. It is God who deserves the glory. I've spoken before about God-incidences and, when these occur, I believe that it is God speaking that word into a person's mind at just the right time. As well as thanking the angel, we must remember to give thanks to God as well!

Have you ever been an angel? Have you ever had that urge to do something for someone quite 'out of the

blue' - an urge so strong that it cannot be ignored? When you've followed that urging, haven't you found that it was just the right thing to do? Sometimes, we do get it wrong but it’s that walking closer and closer to God which will ensure that more often than not we will get it right! Being an angel to someone is a wonderful experience but the glory must go to God because it was He who spoke the word in the first place and gave us the privilege of being used by Him.

One last thought though. Not all angels may necessarily be Christians. They may not acknowledge the presence of God in their own lives but God can, and does, use people who do not know Him. We can only pray that one day they will realise that they, too, are part of God's family.