Angels Watching Over Us

· Pastor Art – Bible Teacher

Photo Credits: John Evans, Winchester, Hants, UK and Olga Poreda, Warsaw, Poland

The Los Angeles system of freeways, rapid transit lanes, and side roads is very busy and can be very dangerous. An understatement!

Hundreds of thousands of cars, pick-up trucks, and huge 80-thousand pound 18 wheeler diesel trucks prowl six traffic lanes on each side of the freeway day and night. At 55 to 65 miles per hour and more, each driver is seeking an advantage in the desperate attempt to arrive at his destination fast. Accidents are frequent. And when they do, the traffic system can come to a complete standstill for hours. Not a fun experience!

I try to stay off the freeways of Southern California when I am in that region, but alas, that is almost impossible, if you want to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. But, local people somehow get quite used to the ebb and flow of traffic and the hazards that come with it. Many travel in their cars on the freeways daily for one or two hours to their work or office location, then after work spend the same amount of time, perhaps even longer, coming back home.

It was a beautiful day in Southern California as my wife and I visited loved ones in the area. In our church worship service that very Sunday morning, the first Sunday of Advent, we listened as the pastor spoke of the ministry of angels. Do I believe that angels attend the children of God? Absolutely! The pastor had a sympathetic listener.

All over the Old and New Testaments, there are references to the mighty angels of God and their activities on earth. One of my favorite Scriptures is Psalm 91. Every verse is meaningful. Several verses specifically speak of angels watching over those who love and obey God.

If you say, "The LORD is my refuge,"
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
They will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Psalm 91:9-12 (NIV)

What reassurance we receive from verses like those. As my wife and I left the church service that Sunday morning, we were thankful to God for his care over our lives.

After a delightful lunch with family, we drove north on the freeway towards Pasadena to attend a dinner party in honor of a beloved uncle who was celebrating his 100th birthday. There was excitement in the air. We had been looking forward to this event literally for years. Now it was about to happen. After freshening up at our hotel, we were invited to ride to the celebration dinner in my brother-in-law's car. Off the 4 of us went, entering the freeway for a short 10 mile ride to the dinner party site. As we were nearing the exit, it was not hard to notice the huge 18-wheel transport truck in the lane right next to us. Our car was positioned in the blind spot of the truck. That is always an uncomfortable feeling. You never know what could transpire.

Then the unthinkable happened!

The monstrous 80-thousand behemoth truck began to make a lane change. I was closest to the action and could see the distance between the truck and our car rapidly narrowing. Within a matter of seconds, the truck next to use crashed into our car.

The accident is still quite vivid as I remember the rear view mirror coming off, and glass breaking all around us. Then there were sickening sounds of metal crunching together like paper. The front of our car veered to the right, which set us up for a major collision by the truck, just behind the back door where I was sitting. Our driver did his best to keep control of the car, while we three passengers, my wife and her sister, were violently tossed and thrown - right to left and up and down. In the midst of this violent collision, we virtually lost all sense of direction.

Upon impact, the trucker quickly applied the brakes of his truck, which caused our car to be hurled in front of the truck, spinning three times across multiple lanes of traffic until we came to an abrupt stop - sideways in the express lane. As I was waiting and bracing for the next and final blow from an oncoming vehicle unable to stop, I thought we were all going to die.

But we didn't! Not one other car or truck hit us in that harrowing spin across four lanes of the freeway. Angels were watching over us.

Whenever I have told this story to anyone who understands the freeway traffic system in Los Angeles, the reaction has been uniform. Mouths fly open and eyes as well. Unbelievable! One former truck driver commented, "Eight out of ten such accidents between a car and an 18-wheeler have no survivors!" I had no trouble believing that.

But God …

In the dark cold night, as traffic backed up for miles, police, ambulance and fire engines finally arrived. Even a doctor passing by the accident scene in her car, stopped to see if any of us were badly injured. An angel? Perhaps.

The car we were in was crunched beyond operation or repair, a total loss. But miraculously, aside from relatively minor injuries, the four of us walked away that night from a potentially deadly situation.

For sure we were traumatized by the event. For a month and more after the accident, there were times I could not speak of it without dissolving into tears. But we can never tell the story without affirming the unmistakable - the angels of God were watching over us that night. And I often wonder, how many other times have the angels of God intervened in dangerous situations and saved us - and we were unaware of it?

I am so glad that the four of us in the car that night, going through that uncontrollable and violent collision, knew the Lord. There were prayers that ascended to God in that car at that moment. It is so marvelous to be "born again" (John 3) and "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2), especially in times of horrific turmoil. Yes, I know that sometimes bad things happen to good people. But not this time! God was with us in a spectacular way. Praise the Lord!

If you are reading this and you do not know Jesus as your Savior and Lord, may I gently urge you to give your life to God? You never know what a day or night might bring forth. When you have Jesus in your life, you can rest in his care and the care of the angels of God. Whatever happens, good or bad, Jesus will be right there with you - through it all.

And, oh, by the way, we did get to the party, only two hours late. I did have the opportunity to wish our uncle a very happy 100th birthday. That's the reason we came in the first place. For some reason, unknown to me then and now, we had all this other drama added on. Perhaps to live to tell you the story and let you know that the Angles of God are there for you too, if you are a child of God.

Photo Credits: John Evans, Winchester, Hants, UK and Olga Poreda, Warsaw, Poland