Your Heavenly Bodyguard

Have you committed your life to the Son of God?
He wants to be your provider, healer and your invincible bodyguard.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Ps 34:7 NIV

In Africa, there are often conflicts between Christians and Muslims. A Christian community was once threatened by angry Muslims. The jihadists wanted to burn down the church and kill the Christians.

The Christians sought refuge in the church and prayed. When the Islamists approached, they were frightened and fled. Why? The Muslims saw powerful angels, God's bodyguards.

Jackie Pullinger is an English woman who moved to Hong Kong at the age of 21 to do missionary work on her own.

She went to the most horrible, dirty and dangerous neighbourhood to reach the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers for Jesus. With God's power and love, this terrible place was totally transformed.

God was her bodyguard.

Can we therefore expect that as Christians, we will always be immune to all persecution and violence? Unfortunately not.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Mt 5:10–12 NIV

Paul experienced terrible persecution but also many miraculous healings.

Some claim that Paul was seriously ill, that his illness was long-lasting and that God refused to heal him, or that Paul was never healed.

But when we consider the extreme violence that Paul was subjected to and how he was still able to continue his incredibly hard ministry, there is no way he could have done this without repeated miraculous healings.

Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 2 Co 11:24–25 NASB95

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.

But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. Acts 14:19–20 NIV

Jesus promised us as his disciples that we should expect God's care, protection and healing, but also suffering and persecution.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all. Ps 34:19 NASB95