Christmas Reminds Us That Angels Watch Over Us

Believers, look up—take courage. The angels are nearer than you think. – Billy Graham

 Christmas reminds us that Angels watch over us.

Angels play a leading role in the story of Jesus’ birth. They appear to Joseph in a dream and tell him of the coming child. The angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her she has been chosen by God. And then a heavenly choir proclaims the message of the Christ child to a group of terrified shepherds.

But I wonder if angels played a behind-the-scenes role in other events surrounding Jesus’ birth as well. Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem would have been difficult and dangerous—doesn’t it make sense to think that angels helped them find their way safely and arrive at just the right time?

Mary gave birth in a barn full of animals, her first birth, with no midwives, no family except her new husband, no sterile medical conditions, no place to put the baby other than the manger. Under those circumstances, it seems that Providence was watching out for the young family—through the care of angels, perhaps?

And even a reluctant inn keeper’s decision to open the manger to a young couple might have been prompted by the whisper of an angel in his ear.

Psalm 91 says, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (verses 11–12). Angels showed up in the Bible stories to deliver big messages directly from God. But the Bible also seems to indicate that God sends them to surround us and watch over us, that they’re all around us all the time.

Have you been protected by angel? Whispered to?

Christmas—with all its little everyday miracles and blessings—has a special way of comforting us with reminders of the presence of angels.

Sometime this Christmas, you’re bound to find yourself looking at a Christmas tree with a glowing angel beaming down at you, a peaceful smile on her face, and a halo on her head. Okay, it’s true, all angels in the Bible are male and the angel on your tree is fashioned more for decoration … but we know that profound spiritual truths often hide behind imperfect representations.

Let her be a reminder that God watches over you and that His angels stand beside you.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

Psalm 103:20