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Insight
(Dragonfly
Ministries
President, Mary Hamrick)
December
2004
Before
I met her, Kelly Willie wrote a song entitled “Angels of Mercy”.
It’s about people who came to her aid during a rough period of her
life. This song has been rolling around in my head for
about a month, repeating over and over, reminding me of the many times
God has sent aid to our family during rough periods.
Though the biblical angels are not human, we learn through scripture
that angels are God’s messengers, His ministering spirits, sent to care
for God’s children – us. I believe that it is, therefore,
appropriate when we do a kind and loving deed for another, that they
perhaps refer to us as “an angel”. In Kelly’s case,
her friends were angels of mercy. Mercy means, “to show
compassion for the ills of others.” In my case, they have been
angels of encouragement.
The Bible teaches that God sends angels ahead of us to prepare the
way. In Exodus 24:20, the Lord told Moses, “See, I am sending an
angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the
place I have prepared.” In Isaiah 52:12, “The Lord will go before
you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” From
personal experience, I know that God prepares me beforehand for every
hardship along the way, every change, every sacrifice. And it is
of great comfort to know that He has already prepared the way for me
through these circumstances.
The Bible also teaches that we are not to worship the angels, for they
clearly work for the Father of all creation. We are to worship
God alone, and praise His holy name. He does send angels to
comfort us, to protect us, sometimes to steady us. Because He
loves us, He sends people to our aid as well, to comfort us, to
encourage us, to show us His love. Which is the topic of this
month’s Insight.
The week of Christmas, I received two special letters in the mail that
were written by human hands but I am sure that the words were given
from the Spirit of the Living God, my One and Only.
One was from my friend, Julie, from Texas. Though I haven’t
spoken to her in a long while, she sent me a note of encouragement in
my walk with Christ. Many times in life, as we are obedient to
the call of Christ, we don’t see the impact of our obedience on
others. Many times we continue on our journey wondering if our
obedience really does make a difference in the lives of others. (It is
obvious in our own lives that our obedience does matter!)
Receiving a letter from Julie lifted my spirits, gave me encouragement
to keep pressing on, and humbled me to know that my life had made an
impact on her spiritual journey and her relationship with God.
The second letter came on the same day as Julie’s, also from my former
home state of Texas, and it came from the resident of the house we had
previously owned.
In 2003 as we had our home on the sellers market, there seemed to be a
never ending list of improvements and repairs that needed to be made in
order to sell the house. We were in a very competitive market for
selling a home, our home was 12 years old and competing with new
construction, and our wonderful realtor knew just what it would take to
sell our home in such a competitive market. We knew that within
God’s timing, we would eventually sell the home, but we also knew that
we had to be obedient in waiting for His perfect timing, and in
following His lead in preparing the house for the new owners.
So I began to put on a fresh coat of paint on the interior walls.
As I stood on top of the ladder, paintbrush in hand, I prayed for the
Lord to fill our home with love for the new residents. As I
textured the bathroom walls, I prayed for God’s kindness and Spirit to
fill the home. And as I bought the new, fresh shower curtains for
the bath, I asked the Lord to show me which one to buy. (He’s
great to take along on shopping trips because He knows where the best
deals are!) Oh how it blessed my heart to know that He was using
us to prepare this home for a very special family. So I bought a
shower curtain, brought it home and as I opened the package, was
delighted to see that it had a dragonfly imprinted in the fabric
design, as if He were saying, “Yes, this is the one.”
We made some other improvements and repairs on the house, and with each
penny we spent, I thanked God that He loved the new owners so
much that He wanted to give them a beautiful and fresh home. I
also knew that as much as He loved the new homeowners, He also loved
our family and in our obedience to leave behind a “perfect” home, He
would open doors for us to find the “perfect” home as well.
That’s just the way He is – He honors obedience.
And He did provide for us a perfect home, but that’s another
story. Let’s get back to this story … The second letter I
received was from the homeowners of our previous home – a beautiful
letter of encouragement, for our lives in Texas, our lives in Maryland,
a note that said thank you for all the little touches we had left
behind, and a note that said, “Please be encouraged that your kindness
stayed in Plano longer than you.”
Both of these letters were written by humans, inspired by God, penned
by God’s messengers…angels.
I am thankful for the many angels God places in our path. Think
about it --- people who offer encouragement, words of wisdom, comfort,
a smile. I used to pray that God would open my human eyes to see
heavenly angels … and now I know that God allows me, rather, to see
them very often, at every turn in this journey, every page and chapter
of my life … and the angels He has opened my eyes to see are the
earthly ones … those that have skin and that are also of His
creation and who are obedient to Him in offering these words of
encouragement, these acts of kindness.
He daily reminds me to turn my eyes and heart upward and thank Him for
His gift of love and mercy and to thank Him for the people He uses to
express and pass along those gifts.
Two days after receiving these letters, I started to spiral into a
depression; a darkness, as my mind pondered the question, “Is this all
life is? A routine of work and sleep?” God brought me
quickly back to reality by reminding me of these two letters I had
received; See, He had prepared the way for me to escape the darkness of
a depressed state; He used these two letters from these earthly angels,
angels of love, to remind me that my life is not just about working or
sleeping … but it is about allowing Him to work through me to make a
difference in His kingdom, to make a difference in the life of someone
else and whether I ever receive a note of encouragement or thanks
should not matter (though they are so wonderful to receive), as long as
I am being obedient to Him in all things, that is what it is all
about. He will make a difference through me …
These promises from the Bible aren’t mine alone – they are also
promises that God has made to you, personally. All of the
promises in His word are to all of His children, all those who love
Him. Remember, you will never fall into a dark place, a dark
state of mind, where God has not prepared a way out for you. Open
His word, Learn His promises, Apply them to your life. And live
in the grasp of His love, allowing His children, His angels, to
minister to you, to carry you to higher heights in Him.
With love,
maryh
Dedicated to my sister, Sandra, who started sending me angel ornaments
in 1995, and who continues to send them as reminders that God never
ever leaves us alone to tread this journey without His presence, His
strength. Thank you, dear sister.
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