Comprehending the number of angels still eludes me. This is to be expected considering there are more than any normal human could even begin to fathom. This massive amount of angels plays a large role in spiritual warfare. There would need to be a multitude of angels considering all they do. Consider the many angels who spend their time guarding us. God sets legions of angels to protecting each and every one of us. This presumably would tie up a large quantity of angels. I might have worried about this, protecting millions of precious souls is a massive undertaking, but I realized that the enemy is just as bogged down as we are.
Satan has to assign many of his troops to wage what I imagine to be guerilla warfare against the angels defending us. I see it as guerilla warfare because the enemy is outnumbered. For every demon, there are three angels. Direct engagement isn’t an option for the enemy. They would be overwhelmed, right? I’m not sure. If direct war was waged, each side would have advantages that could tip the scale. Where the angels have numbers, the demons have humanity. The very people angels are assigned to protect can very easily turn on them. There are humans who defy this assumption, though. Those of us who fight for the Lord are far more powerful than anything the enemy can throw at us. Our use of that power must be careful, wise, and loving. We could very well destroy ourselves with the power God trusts us with.
Our power shows in many ways. Our most powerful asset, in my opinion, is choice. In everything we do, there is always a choice. No one can take away our ability to choose. If even the Most High is determined to safeguard free will, what can we do to undermine that? All power or authority that isn’t God’s or of God is nothing. Humanity is stuck in the folly of believing our will is paramount. Parents do not rule children by their own power (teenagers are proof of this). Parents rule their children because God said it would be so. The President doesn’t lead by his own power. He leads because we elected him to lead (God probably manipulated events to get him elected in the first place). Even then, what power does the President have if God decides to dabble in the President’s affairs? We delude even ourselves into thinking we have plans.
Who are we to even pretend that the Lord’s plans don’t come first? I’m not saying we should just veg out on the couch and let life happen…that’s not at all what we need to do. We should proactive in all things, but we do not rule our own destinies. God has a master plan that He will carry out. It is simply a matter of what role we play in His Kingdom.
On the subject of God’s plan, I know little of what lies there in. I’m not even convinced it is a “plan”. I think it is more of a grouping of objectives. How he gets to those objectives is hotly debated. We probably won’t know all the details until we finally meet Him. I don’t exactly think it’s important either. God will do what needs to be done without breaking any of His covenants. This, of course, includes free will.
God doesn’t desire a passionate relationship with a bunch of mindless drones. He wants us just as we are; passionate, quirky, free thinking.
by Carson L Hicks III
