“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
and He delivers them” (Psalm 34:7).
There are angels here among us in our
world. They serve God, and they are not without His special purpose.
We may call them “guardian angels” or we acknowledge their
presence by calling these powerful, messengers of God “our special angels.”
Sometimes, we rightly credit them with saving our lives, keeping us from doing
something foolish as we are likely to do from time to time.
A couple of years ago, I was
approaching a very dangerous railroad crossing. There had been many fatal
accidents at this crossing because of the large trees and underbrush that
blocked the view of any approaching train from either direction. There were no
warning lights or crossing bars, only a wooden sign indicating a railroad
crossing. On this near fatal day for me several railroad men were
working on the tracks at this crossing. I saw the orange cones they had placed
on either side of the tracks and I slowed down since they were working so near
the road and the tracks there in front of me. One of the workers gave me some
kind of unrecognizable hand signal I misunderstood to be “come on ahead,” and I
proceeded to drive on across the tracks believing no train was coming since the
workers themselves were so near the train tracks. Mentally I was prompted by
caution but, I was going to go ahead and cross the tracks since I thought I was
being instructed to do so. I was no more than 10 feet from the tracks when in
my mind I heard a scream; “STOP!” The extreme warning command was so loud it
sounded just like a desperate passenger riding there beside me in my truck.
Responsively, I slammed on my brakes… just as a passing freight train crossed
my path doing at least sixty miles per hour! The speeding train was so close I
believed some part of the train was going to strike my front bumper!
I was so shocked at my near death
experience and how close I came to having this train slam into my driver’s side
door that after it passed and I eventually did cross the tracks, I had to pull
over to the side of the road. I was shaking all over, my mind was unable to
process any thought. I was so nearly killed by the train. In some ways, it all
seemed like a horrible nightmare, one I couldn’t awake from.
God placed His angel on the seat there
beside me that day, and He protected me because He has a purpose for my life
even though to this day I don’t fully understand all His intentions for using
me. I praise God for loving me so and for keeping me from harm. He is a
faithful God who does deliver!