I am going to send an angel before you to protect you on the way and bring you to the place I have prepared. Be attentive to him and listen to his voice. Do not defy him because he will not forgive your acts of rebellion, for My name is in him. But if you will carefully obey him and do everything I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.  Exodus 23:20-22 HCSB

I try to be a good, Christian person, I really do. But there are times when the devil uses people and circumstances put me to the ultimate test. A couple weeks ago, I had a circumstance which called for me to send a text message to someone who opposes me. I did so, but of course, this person responded with what I considered a challenge. Now I often feel as though the devil is sitting on my right shoulder and an angel is on my left shoulder. Why my left? Well, I’m left handed so maybe it’s because everything right is on my left side. Anyway, the little devil perched on my right shoulder quickly came up with a sarcastic response. I really wanted to send that. But, the angel on the left shoulder told me not to do that. The angel told me to simply answer the question, which I did. I’ve noticed this a lot lately. The devil and the angel each trying to get me to do things their way.

Now I have also noticed that when I do things the devil’s way, it simply brings more drama and confusion into my life. My little niece who just turned nine a couple days ago was watching as I fought with the Christmas lights trying to get them on the tree. I finally told her at one point that I was getting frustrated. I was confused as to why they weren’t lining up and I wanted them to. She simply looked at me and told me to be careful because confusion leads to chaos and chaos leads to sin. Hmm, from the mouths of babes. When I asked her where she learned this, she simply shrugged and said, “First grade.” I told my nephew that he was not wasting his money by sending her to a Christian school.

In our scripture passage God is addressing the Israelites. He has brought them out of slavery in Egypt and is helping them to get to the promised land. In this same way, God wants to bring us out of the bondage of sin and bring us into an eternal life in glory with Him. He told the Israelites that He was sending an angel to protect them along the way. We are told in Psalm 91:11 that God gives His angels orders concerning His children to protect them. Psalm 91:1 tells us that if we choose to live in God’s shelter, we will be protected. When we choose to be His child and we choose to remain in close fellowship with Him, we receive the protection that He offers. In our scripture passage He warns the Israelites to pay close attention to this angel and listen to him. He tells them that the angel will not forgive their acts of rebellion. He goes on to say that His name is in Him. He promises that if they obey the angel that He will be an enemy to their enemies and a foe to their foes. They weren’t just going to stroll over to this promised land and take up residence. There would be battles to fight along the way. They would face opposition, but the key to being victorious was being obedient to the angel that God was sending to guide them.

It is no different for me and you. If we want to be victorious, if we want to win at life, we must obey God. We must regularly listen to the guidance provided by the angels he sends to guide and protect us. We must remember that there is always a spiritual battle raging over our souls, but we must choose to give this battle over to God. We must trust in Him to be our strong defender and to bring us victory.

If you have that little devil on one shoulder and the angel on the other, I beg of you to rebuke that little devil and listen closely to the angel. Obey your angel. They are God’s messengers to us and they report directly to Him. Rebellion will not be tolerated. Trust in your angel to protect and guide you in any and all situations. After all, that’s why God put them there with you.

Have a great day!