The Lord Jesus, in Gethsemane, taught us that even though He was the Son of God, He did not change the Father's plan. What happened there shows us how to act in any situation: ask God for help while submitting ourselves to the Lord's will for our lives. Jesus did this, and an angel from Heaven was sent to comfort Him. Surely, the same will happen to us.

We do not know whether we will see angels or hear the audible voice of God, but something will happen—such as remembering a Bible verse or learning that someone has given up on harming us. The Lord is faithful and will not leave us alone in our struggles, but we will have to face them. On the day of Christ’s judgment, we will give an account of what we have done in this life (2 Corinthians 5:10). Stay alert and pray!

We see God’s hand in the battle fought by Barak, under the guidance of Judge Deborah. Even the stars collaborated with God’s purpose to deliver Israel from the oppression of Jabin, king of Canaan. Otherwise, he would have continued to oppress the chosen people. You see, Barak did not just stand by Deborah, praying for God to act. He had to gather ten thousand men on Mount Tabor and go down with them to face a giant army (Judges 4). He won!

This battle had the help of the forces of nature to disrupt the enemy army, but the Israelites also fought. Only the inhabitants of Meroz refused to help Israel, and for that reason they were cursed by the Lord’s command: Curse Meroz,’ said the angel of the LORD, ‘Curse its inhabitants bitterly, because they did not come to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.’ (Judges 5.23). Joining God’s plan is the best choice!

David would be caught by Saul in a trap, but the Lord did not let this happen to the one who was after His own heart. On one side of the hill came David and his soldiers; on the other, Saul and his army. David’s side ended at a quarry where no one passed, but God intervened at the right time, creating a new situation: it had come to Saul’s ears that the Philistines had invaded Israel. Thus, David was able to escape. A piece of news saved the servant of the LORD (1 Samuel 23:24-29).

The angelic messengers can be sent to the Lord’s servants to deliver them from danger. Even in wars, angels act in a magnificent way. In World War II, for example, a soldier was saved from a rifle shot because he carried his Bible with him into battle. He only felt the impact of the shot on his leg. Later, he saw that there was a hole in his pants, examined the Bible, and found that the bullet had stopped at Psalm 91:7.

Since we are the Lord’s Israel, we have often been spared from the ferocity of the king of Hell, who works at all costs to destroy us. As the psalmist said: “If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us (Psalm 124.2). Rejoice, then, if God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8.31b). There is no way for the enemy to touch a single hair on our heads, because our heavenly Father protects us!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares