The AMI QT devotionals from June 26-July 2 are provided by Cami King. Cami, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, recently completed her M.Div. at Gordon Conwell Seminary. She is currently serving as a staff at Journey Community Church in Raleigh.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS FOR TODAY
Heavenly Help in the War
Revelation 12:7-12
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12 For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”
One of the many sermon podcasts to which I listen weekly is from a pastor in Chicago. Recently he talked about the reality of angelic protection over the people of God. He told stories from his youth that led him to believe firmly in angels and their active protection in his life. One story was of a time he was being bullied at school when, seemingly out of nowhere, the bully appeared terrified and began backing up, as though he were seeing something Charlie (the pastor) couldn’t see, then ran away. I guess only Charlie and God really know what happened in that movement (and also the bully, I suppose), but he is fully persuaded that there was a heavenly being (an angel) protecting and defending him that scared off his attacker.
When I was in high school, my father was pretty sick and in the hospital for a while, and my family was really scared. He had to have a pretty risky surgery, and we weren’t sure how things were going to turn out. There was a stranger who came to see us in the hospital one day and spoke the kindest and most encouraging words to our family. He reminded us that God was with us and assured us that things would be OK. He said some other things to my parents that I didn’t hear and then left. We were so uplifted and strengthened in heart, but we were also so caught off guard that we didn’t even ask him his name. So my mom sent me running out right behind him to ask, but he was gone—I mean, this man was literally nowhere to be found. No one at the nurse’s station had seen anyone come or go for quite some time. No one knew of any guests fitting the description I gave. To this day I wonder if he was a messenger from the Lord.
Our passage today reminds us that there is a heavenly host fighting a spiritual war on our behalf. God has deployed His angels to fight and win the victory over our Accuser and Deceiver, Satan. And their victory is sure! I don’t know too much about angels and how they operate in the world today, but what I do know is that God has an army of heavenly beings on His side, and somehow together they are working all things for our good and God’s glory. Not only this, but the whole earth rejoices at their victory and our salvation from sin and freedom from the reign of the Enemy. It’s an incredible scene. Let us take courage! The Lord and His angels and even all of creation are on our side.
Prayer: Almighty God, help me to remember just how much help You’ve given me today. Not only the greatest Helper (Your Holy Spirit) and the community of believers (the Church), but also the Heavenly Hosts are for me because You, Father, are for me. Thank You for that truth. May it strengthen my heart today. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Timothy 3-4