Guardian Angels

I believe in guardian angels. I also believe that God uses people and/or animals to help us. And why not? God sent the ravens to feed Elijah while he was hiding east of the Jordan. Twice a day they brought him food. You can read more about that in 1 Kings 17. God also used a dove to help Noah find dry ground after the flood. That can be found in Genesis 8.

Have you ever experienced an encounter you can't quite explain? Have you ever experienced a "close call?" If so I would love to hear about it. God may have saved your life on more than one occasion and you don't even know it.

I can remember one occasion that I couldn't explain. I was driving my old beater of a car home after visiting a friend who lived about 30 km outside of the city. It was late at night and I was on a stretch of road that was not frequently traveled.

Suddenly, my headlights went out, it was my relays. The darkness enveloped me as I pulled over on the side of the road. There were no street lights and the moon wasn't out to provide even a little bit of light. I sat there wondering what to do. This was before cell phones were common so I had no way to contact anyone. I thought about walking, but it was a long distance both ways.

Moments later I noticed I could clearly see the road ahead. There was light shining on it. I leaned forward against my steering wheel to find the source of the light. I gazed into the night sky expecting to see the moon, but instead I saw a bright light hovering about 30 feet above my car. It was like someone was shining a large flashlight down from the sky, lighting up a section of the road ahead.

I started to drive, thinking whatever it was, I would drive through the lit up section of the road and end up in the darkness once again. As I slowly drove the light above me seemed to move with me, always lighting up the section of road I was on. This light remained with me until I reached the city limits where the street lights took over, and as quickly and mysteriously as the light had appeared, it vanished. It's something I will never forget.

Adam Walker is a British open-water swimmer. In his sixth of seven long-distance swims for the Oceans Seven, he swam 16 miles of New Zealand's Cook Strait. It's the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Oceans Seven is seven long-distance swims and has only been completed by four people. About half way through his 16 mile swim Adam saw a great white shark below him. To say this concerned him would be an understatement.

The next thing he knew, a pod of about 10 dolphins showed up and surrounded him, forming a wall of protection around him. They continued to swim with him for an hour. At this point in time the shark finally left and Adam was no longer in danger. The pod of dolphins bid farewell and went on their way. I think it's interesting to know that Adam had also been raising funds for a nonprofit group focused on whale and dolphin conservation.

I think this is an excellent example of God using animals to protect a human. This pod of dolphins acted as Adam's guardian angels when they formed a wall of protection around him. Part of this swim was captured on video and posted on YouTube. As I write this blog post there has been over 4 million views. Here is the link:
Dolphins Protect Swimmer

The Perfect Sunny Spot

Ephesians 1:4,5 (NLT)

Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

In the above scriptures God, through Paul, is telling us that He actually set us apart and choose us to be His very own before He ever created the world. God knew man would sin and fall away from His original good plan for us. He knew that and had already planned a way for us to be able to return to His family through His son Jesus before Adam ever set foot on this Earth. Isn't that good news? He adopted us as His very own and made special, loving plans for each and every one of us. Plans that only we can fulfill in our lifetime. People that only we can reach out to and touch with His love. Of course, the choice is always up to us. We can choose to follow His good plan for our lives and put our Creator first or we can choose to follow after our flesh and do what we think we want and need to be happy.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I used to think I knew what I want and needed in my life in order to be happy and I didn't think it included God. I followed my own plans for my life for many years. It never brought me happiness. Sure, maybe I was happy once in awhile for a fleeting moment but never truly happy. I had no peace. I always ended up disappointed and heartbroken. Since I have given my life over to God and let Him take control, I have peace and a joy that isn't only fleeting.

When I spend time with God in His Word, I love to sit in the sun. If it is warm outside, I find a nice sunny spot, usually on my outdoor swing, and I read God's love letter (the Bible). If it is winter, I find a place inside my house where the sun is shining in and I read God's Word there. For me, feeling the warm sun on my face and hair as I read His Word is like feeling the warmth of his unconditional love which is pouring down on me from heaven above. It reminds me of the last part of a scripture:

Revelation 1:16 (AMP)

His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Ephesians 1:18 (NLT)

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called—His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance.

You and I are His chosen holy people He called. It is up to us to answer that call.

Dear Heaveny Father, flood the eyes of my heart with your revealing light so that I may know and understand how rich and glorious my inheritance is with you. Thank you God for making a way for me to be a part of Your family again.