I have always been incredibly intrigued by the supernatural. When I was in my teens and being a bit rebellious about church and Christianity, I read the novel ‘Piercing the Darkness’ by Frank E Peretti. Although the book would fall into the Christian Fiction genre, it was life-changing for me. (A must read if you are interested in angels and demons).
It gave me an awareness of the Spiritual Realm which is so intrinsically woven into our world. Some people live with a permanent awareness of this and others either ignore it or are completely oblivious to it. I would say that I fall somewhere in the middle. To me, if feels almost as if there is a line in our consciousness, dividing these two worlds and I hop in and out of the spiritual realm, getting a taste of the power and presence, but always stepping back into the ‘tangible world’. These visits or experiences, give me an acute awareness of Gods love and power and victory over evil and darkness.
The reality of the ‘spiritual realm’ was sparked deep in the very core of me.
Thinking about it makes me come alive.
It makes me feel passionately on fire.
If you ever find yourself doubting the power and presence of God, consider this;
On the other side of God, who is everything that is good, there is Satan who is everything that is evil. Satan reveals his demonic powers in the realm of Satanism, witchcraft, the occult, witchdoctors, spiritualism etc etc.
People aren’t shy or embarrassed to talk about these forces and powers and to admit that they are real.
But God’s power is far greater!! God created Satan – he was the highest of all the angels. God overcame Satan when he threw him out of heaven after Satan tried to usurp the throne of God. God is the ultimate VICTOR. Gods power rules throughout the earth.
So when we pray and believe for Gods protection, we can truly trust that God will protect us. The word of God says this many times and in many different ways – and I believe it …. literally.
The other day I headed out for a run on my own. I love this alone time – it is my time to pray to God, connect with God and hear from God. As I set out I prayed that the Lord would send an angel before me and behind me, to protect me from any danger. This is how I come to ‘run with angels’
My route took me through the Constantia Greenbelt, up to Constantia Nek, then down through the cork forest to Cecilia Forest and finally back through the Constantia Greenbelt. The first half of the run was mostly uphill and rather taxing but once at the top, it became an easy downhill trot. I was about 3/4 of the way through and not feeling particularly strong, when in my periphery vision, I saw something large and black come charging after me. Toffee, my very enthusiastic Cocker Spaniel ran over to say hello but for some reason, I didn’t turn around. I remember thinking to myself, ‘Wow that really looked like a baboon’ but I never actually saw it. At that exact time, I felt the very strange sensation of my shoulders being up and back.. This struck me as odd because I was quite fatigued and I still questioned myself as to whether this is actually my running style. But the sensation was as if something were putting pressure on my back to hold up my shoulders and my head up high.
A minute later, I crossed the last road which would take me down the last leg of my run. Suddenly I heard a horrendous barking / growling sound and spun around to see a couple of horses going crazy as a large baboon antagonized them.
I immediately thanked God for his protection. The baboon must have been the black ‘thing’ that came running up to me and my angels must have kept my eyes looking forward and my head held up high. I definitely felt that I had been touched by an angel! If I had seen the baboon, I definitely would have panicked screamed, fearing Toffee’s and my safety.
When I arrived home, I went on line to do some research on how one should behave when encountered by a baboon. This was what I read we must do:
“Shoulders back, head high” – remember your body language is being read by very clever strategists! By making your body appear as large and dominant as possible you are already sending out a clear message that you are in control.”
Thank you Jesus!!!