Today’s Reading: John 20:11-14
Hearing God’s Voice for Today:
“As she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.”
* * * * *
Peter and John saw and believed. They ran from the tomb to tell the other disciples what they had seen. They were overcome with joy.
But Mary Magdalene remained behind, outside the tomb. She had not yet concluded that Jesus had been raised from the dead.
She looked into the tomb and saw two angels sitting on the stone slab where Jesus had once been laid. One was sitting where his head had been placed, the other where his feet once were. They were dressed in white, expressing their perfect, sinless, and brilliant purity.
The Father in heaven is often called “the Lord of hosts.” This means that he is the Lord of all the angelic armies. There are millions upon millions of these magnificent creatures who worship God continually. And they also serve as messengers sent forth from heaven to help God’s elect who will inherit salvation.
The Father sent two of these mighty messengers to the empty tomb to tell Mary Magdalene the good news that Jesus was alive. Amidst her grief, they gave her hope. Her mourning soon turned to joy.
The heavenly Father oversees all these angels. He wants his children to understand and use this underutilized spiritual power. They are available to you as they were to Mary Magdalene and all the saints through the ages.
If you are in distress today, ask your heavenly Father to send you his angels to help you. They do his bidding and obey his word. The Father commands them to carefully guard you in all your ways. They can go before you. They can be your rear guard. They can oversee your right and left flanks. They desire to minister to you.
And they are always on your side, fighting for you against all your enemies.
The Father who oversees the entire world oversees his angelic armies. Ask for them. They are available to you. If there’s a delay, persevere in prayer, believing they are coming to you. Trust that if you could see in the invisible, spiritual, and eternal world, there would be more angels than demons. They far outnumber the enemy forces that are against you—two of God’s angels for every demon (Revelation 12:4). That reality should cause you never to fear demonic hordes.
Nothing formed against you will stand.26 The Father holds the entire world—and you—in his hands. He is faithful to all the promises he has made to you.
The Lord of hosts, the King over all the angelic armies, is ready to send them to you.
Are you ready to ask for them?
[from “Hearing the Voice of God” by Pastor David Chadwick, Moments of Hope Church, Charlotte, NC]