- An Angel to keep you
Exodus 23:20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
God promises Moses that He will send an angel in front of him to lead, guide and keep him in the way and all along the way of the journey to the Promised Land. The angel will bring him, and all the people, into the place God prepared. This promise is time and event specific: it is for Moses and the people he is leading, but the Bible shows us that believers also have an angel to keep them on the journey to the place prepared for them. If you make the Lord your God then “he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways [Psalm 90:11].”
By repentance and faith in the gospel we have made the Lord our God, and the promise kicks in for the children of God. We can take the promise to mean that all believers have a guardian angel, or even angels, to keep us in the way. We are still on a journey in a strange and dangerous land, going to a land of peace and safety, the kingdom of God. This prepared place is prepared in our hearts now, and it also awaits the final resurrection to be realized in full.
Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Jesus prepared this place when He went to the cross to die and to the tomb to rise again. He prepared a place in the heart for God to dwell today and permanently. He is preparing a place in heaven, to which He has ascended and reigns from. We will go to the place He has prepared, for He has already prepared a place in our hearts for God to dwell within.
Along with His gracious presence the Lord commissions angels to guard and keep us while we are “in the way.” Of course, we don’t see the angels, but we have the promise that they are there. We don’t know how many times they have kept and guarded us from spiritual danger and harm. And, angels also protect us from physical harm. Trust God’s angels. Trust His promise.