Part Three of The Angel Series

For six days, the Lord created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. Then He rested. I know that most Bible teachings focus on that rest day—how and when and what is too much and what is too little and do we still have to observe an official Sabbath day or is that the law, yada yada yada. (You should google it. All the controversy made my head spin).

I personally believe that the Old Testament day of rest is a little picture of the true rest that we find in Christ. In other words, we do not have to worry about breaking the rules when we don’t rest on Sunday—or Saturday, as the case may be—from sun up to sun down. We can pick another day to relax because our rest is not in a natural day, it is in the person of Jesus Christ who has delivered us from all our desperate struggles to make ourselves pleasing to God. In Jesus and His completed work, we rest.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

So enough said about that because I want to look at the six days that God worked. If we are to rest one day, doesn’t that mean that we are supposed to work six days?

Have you ever thought about the fact that no natural creature, except humans, intentionally and unnecessarily works? They gather food and do what else is absolutely necessary for survival. Only the image of God works with some goal other than survival in mind. Humans commonly get together in order to solve a problem or improve something. Let’s say we decide that the traffic traveling from Point A to Point B is heavy enough to warrant the construction of a new bridge north of the old bridge. So, we hire consultants and engineers who draw up plans and we hire workers to construct a new bridge. Only people do that kind of thing. It is one of the ways that we act like God who also works with intention and purpose.

So, when you work, no matter what kind of work it is—washing dishes, emptying the litter box, bagging groceries, or removing gall bladders—you are behaving like the image of God. This means that work—all work from low to high—is holy.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord … Colossians 3:23

So, what does all this have to do with angels?

In September 2017 my mother passed away. The task of preparing her home to be sold had fallen to me. An auction company had carted off all of her remaining possessions the day before, leaving me with a few cleaning supplies in an otherwise empty house. I do not live in the same city, so when I discovered that the large vent covers of her HVAC unit needed to be taken off for a serious cleaning, I did not know what to do. The only tool in the house was a paint scraper.

I had already spent days going through her things, arranging for most to be sold, others to be set aside for extended family members. I had scraped up paint splatters, scrubbed bathrooms and windows, cleaned out the refrigerator and the fire place. I was weary and sad and overwhelmed. I missed my family. I was waiting for the real estate agent to come by. Then I was traveling the two-hour drive to my home. I just did not have the energy to drive to the store to buy a screw driver.

So, I asked my angels a question: “Are you guys able to help me clean these HVAC vents?”

Next thing I know, I have used the paint scraper to remove the screws holding the vents. I then washed, dried and reinstalled the big heavy things as if I were an expert at home maintenance (I am so not an expert). Looking at the sparkling clean vents, I wondered. Hmmm? What other ordinary tasks could the angels help with?

Housework is not my favorite thing. I like a clean house but making it clean is not fun to me. I remind myself as I scoop the litter box and wash the dishes, that all work is holy, but still … housework is not my thing. So, the week after I returned to my home, Sam and I were scheduled to host our house church which meant serious house cleaning. Wondering if my angels could help me with the housework, I told them, “Angels. If you are able, help me clean this house.” The next thing I know, worship music is belting out from my iPad and I am sitting on the floor hand-vacuuming the rug. Let me just say that, as a rule, I do not voluntarily hand vacuum rugs. But here I was happily vacuuming away. I had been cleaning for hours! And I was full of energy. At 8 p.m. I finally thought to tell my angels they could stop helping me!

Curious to learn if enlisting angel-help for ordinary tasks would work for others, I passed this information to my buddy, Janie. Janie was getting her house ready to sell, so she wondered if her angels would help her paint a bedroom. Keep in mind that Janie is well into her sixties and a widow, living alone. Janie reported that the room was painted in record time!

All of us face tasks that are too hard, high pressure, or just boring and repetitive. But what if the angels want to give us a hand with our work? Wouldn’t that help to make work the joy that it is meant to be?

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

I invite you to try this, keeping in mind that work is holy. There is no honest work that is dishonorable. Not if Jesus can dress himself as the lowliest slave and wash dirty feet without losing His identity or self-respect. So, enlisting the aid of your angels to accomplish your tasks in no way dishonors them. Just keep in mind that angels are servants and soldiers. Servants and soldiers do not take initiative. They take orders. That means that you must tell them what you want them to do. If you want them to help you with your housework or yard work, tell them to help you. If you want them to help you complete your paperwork or homework, tell them.

I do not understand how spiritual beings such as angels are able to help us with natural tasks, but they are and they are very good at it. If you decide to lighten your load by employing your angels, would you take a minute to shoot me an email about it? You might have discovered something angels are able to help with that I have not thought to try.

the Lord your God will bless you … in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful. Deuteronomy 16:15

God bless,

Susan

(Originally published April, 2018)