In the Christmas story, we find angels in several different scenes. In the Gospel of Luke’s account of the Christmas story, we see an angel telling Zechariah that he will have a son and to call him John (Luke 1:13).
In Luke 1:30-31, we see an angel telling Mary she will give birth to Jesus. In Luke 2:11, we see the angels telling the shepherds about the Christ child being born. The Christmas story is full of angels and heavenly hosts communicating to the world about the wonderful birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Angels are a wonderful supernatural aspect of the Christmas story, but they are still here today to serve us. In fact, angels should really be a normal part of our Christianity.
Hebrews 1:14 (NKJB) says, “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” Psalm 8:5–6 (NLT) says, “Yet you made them [man] only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority.” That means angels are under our authority through Christ. Angels have been created by God to help us, assist us and protect us on this earth.
My wife and I had an amazing angel encounter when we were in our 20s. We had traveled to Seattle in order to attend Christian Faith Center with Pastor Casey Treat. On the way back from church, we decided to drive up Mount St. Helens to see the destruction from the volcanic eruption of 1980. We drove probably three hours up to the lookout point that overlooks into the crater of the mountain.
As we hiked up to the highest viewing point, I noticed a man who had several cameras. He got my attention, because I wanted to get a picture and I didn’t have a camera. I said hello to him and after spending an hour or so on the look out area, we hiked back down the peak and the man was still there and seemed to be waiting beside his car. I approached him and struck up a conversation with him in hopes of a photo.
As I spoke to him, I suggested he visit Christian Faith Center if he got a chance. This man says to me, “I’m glad to see you’re involved in church work, now.” I heard what he said, but, it didn’t really register in my mind. I looked around and noticed everyone had left the parking area and it was starting to get dark. I was so engrossed in the whole experience, I wasn’t thinking about driving three hours back down the dark meandering mountain road.
So, the man says, “why don’t you follow us down the mountain?” His wife was with him in the car.
As I followed his car down the mountain, I felt so much peace following those taillights down that mountain. Every time he braked, those lights would brighten and I knew there was another turn up ahead. As I followed his car, it came to me! The man in the car in front of me said, “I’m glad to see you’re involved with church work, now.” I had been a rebellious pastor’s son who strayed from my faith and my calling and he spoke as if he knew that.
Why did a stranger tell me that I pondered? How would a stranger know I’m involved in church work now? See at the time I meet him, I was going through the struggle of answering the call of God for my life and ministry.
After coming down the mountain, we decided to take another road and leave the couple that we were following. An hour later, my wife and I pull into a restaurant, and guess who sat in the restaurant? That’s right, the couple we had met earlier who helped us down the mountain. We sat down and ate dinner with that couple and talked about the goodness of God.
Hebrews 13:2 (NLT) says, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.” I believe we experienced an angelic visitation that night as that couple served us, protected and watched over us.
Angels were a wonderful part of the Christmas story, but angels are still here, protecting us, serving us and helping us through this life.
Steve Trexler is a minister and a writer for Kenneth Hagin Ministries in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Steve is the author of Gathering God’s Promises, Name Droppers and God’s Personality Test, all of which can be found at his website, fhctn.com. You may also contact Steve at [email protected].