OVERNIGHT IN THE WOODS BUT NOT ALONE

OVERNIGHT IN THE WOODS BUT NOT ALONE

I woke up and felt something on my back. I thought it was just bumps from the rocks I’d slept on, but no. It was ticks! Three of them that I could feel, and they’d embedded themselves into my skin and were getting fat from my blood. I could reach around to my back and tried to twist them out. I probably didn’t get the heads, but I’d deal with that later. I was lost in the woods, had slept on the rocky shore of a lake all night, and needed to get home. But I wasn’t afraid because something wonderful had happened the evening before.

I was walking up in the hills behind my apartment. I took my Bible and thought I’d hike a little and then sit down to read. I hiked a lot more than a little, sat down to read, and when I got up, I realized I didn’t know which direction was home. It was getting late, and I started to get very scared and hungry. I prayed and walked on. In about an hour, I found some berries, and that satisfied my hunger somewhat. I sat down again and started to cry. “God, You’ve got to get me out of here. It’s going to be dark soon, and I’m afraid.” I cried some more, and then through teary eyes, I looked up into the sky and saw an amazing sight.

A real angel! It was in white and was blowing a trumpet. I didn’t know if it was male or female and I didn’t see any wings either, but what I felt was peace. In my Spirit I heard, “It’s going to be okay, don’t worry.” At that moment, I knew which way to go, and I wasn’t afraid anymore. It was dusk when I looked down the hill, and about 100 feet away, I could see a lake. I was so thirsty by then; it was a really welcome sight. But what now?

It was getting too dark to go any further, and I didn’t want to go back up into the trees, so I decided to sleep where I was. The ground was rocky and kind of slanted, but I found what I thought was the best spot, curled up and slept.

When I woke in the morning, after pulling out tick bodies, I started around the lake. I only walked a few steps  and realized the shoreline twisted in and out a lot. I knew about lakes up in that area, so I knew if I walked around the lake, I would come to something I recognized and I could get home. But hen I spotted some fishermen coming down to the water, straight across from me. I yelled over to them, and they saw me. But how was I going to get to them?

I would have to swim across. I wrapped up my Bible in the jacket I was wearing and began to swim across the lake. It looked like a very long swim, but I was a good swimmer so I knew I’d make it. Although it was May and the water cold, I hardly noticed it. I was like a wet rat when I got out of the water and exhausted. The fisherman and his two sons kindly gave me a ride several miles back to my home.

In Genesis 24, God sent an angel ahead of Abraham’s servant to protect him and prosper him when he went to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham told the servant, “He [God] shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence” (v.7). Verse 40 says, “The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way.” The servant took ten camels laden with precious gifts, including jewels of silver and gold, clothing, and other costly things. Even with robbers along the way, the angel cleared the path, and the servant got there with all the camels and gifts protected.

Psalm 91:11 tells us this about angels: “For he [God] shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”

When God begins a work in us, and we are willing to do it, this promise from Philippians 1:6 is a great one to take to heart: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” That is the day Jesus comes to get us.

Miraculously my Bible didn’t get wet with the swim across the lake; I had food and water, a ride home, and best of all, I had my very first vision of a real angel, who went before me and protected me on my way.

Sleeping on rocks was not fun. Having ticks embedded into my back, sucking my blood was not fun; being scared was not fun. But I was never alone. The Lord was with me the whole time and sent an angel to let me know it was true. The Lord led me to the edge of a lake, not only for a drink of water. By His providence, I woke up at the time when the Lord already knew there would be fishermen straight across from where I’d slept, kind people who encouraged me and gave me a ride home.

How many times have all of us been in a similar situation? Maybe not physically, but emotionally or otherwise: lost, attacked, something eating us that we couldn’t reach or eliminate? We’ve been in situations without answers, wandering, and not finding. We’ve been scared, not knowing if we’d be able to get out of whatever was binding us.  

Life as a Christian isn’t always going to be easy. We get attacked, disturbed, bummed out in rocky places, lost in the woods. But we can be assured that the Lord is always with us through all of it, and He will get us across the lakes and take us safely home. Jesus said: “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).

Love, Carolyn

QUESTIONS AND EASY CHALLENGES

1. Have you or anyone you know had an experience with an angel or angels, especially when in a scary situation? Describe the experience.

2. It was a miracle that my Bible didn’t get wet when I swam across the lake. Describe a miracle you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed.

3. What was the promise in Genesis 24 to Abraham’s servant regarding his journey? Cite the scriptures.

4. Are you aware of being on a journey? Cite a scripture besides the one in Genesis 24 that shows we can have angelic help in our life journeys.

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