"He shall give his angels charge over thee…" Those words are part of the 91st Psalm – the Psalm of protection, one I often turned to in the days I used to fly as cabin crew for an international airline. I have had countless experiences of protection and guidance, which I’m so grateful for. At least three times, the Captain used the word “miracle” to describe what had happened (though to me, they were divinely NATURAL happenings, not anything out of the norm).
Today I came across this remarkable little audio of two pilots and their rather dramatic landing when the engine failed and they only had about 250-300 ft of a field to land on, with a road at the end. Thought you’d enjoy listening to it:
[url]Flying on the wings of Love*/[/url]
It got me researching the archives and I spent hours reading all sorts of experiences of protection and guidance, especially during World War II and thought it would be a great topic for a new thread. I hope others have experiences they can share too.
Here’s one of mine. One of the most dangerous flying weather conditions is fog (not so critical today with all the technology, but still one that pilots do not like). One morning I had a flight to Cork (in Ireland) and when the First Officer got on board, he told me we wouldn't be going there as it was fog-bound and below limits but we'd be flying to Shannon instead and our passengers would be transferred by coach, which would take over two hours.
Immediately I mentally protested! It was so clear to me that God (another name for good) being the source of perfection and blessing, can only cause goodness and harmony. Inconvenience or delay is simply not included in harmony. I thought of our passengers and how they had a legitimate right to get to their destination on time, they were either meeting loved ones or going there on business and the same for the return passengers waiting at the airport. God, infinite good, is in control of the weather, so anything that is violent or destructive (or even murky) is never caused by God and is certainly not in accord with the immutable laws of harmony.
Next the Captain got on board and told me the same story. "Captain, can you please TRY to get in?" I asked. He looked rather startled but said "Very well, but I'm only going to make one attempt." I heard myself reply "We'll get in first time." and then I thought, "what on earth did I say that for?"
During the flight I popped up to see them (this was the days before they were locked behind bullet-proof doors) and asked how the weather was. "Surprisingly it's improving" said the Captain but then immediately reiterated that he would only make one attempt to get in.
Well, we did get in, first time. It was a tiny little airport and you parked just yards from the terminal building. This little man came running out to us, grinning from ear to ear "Boy am I glad to see you!" (said with a lovely Irish accent) "Why, haven't you had many flights in today?" "We've had NO flights in today."
Literally while we were talking, thick clouds of sea fog started rolling in and the terminal building disappeared. The passengers disembarked and the pilots came out of the flight deck. The Captain was furious. "Look at this. This is all your fault. I should never have listened to you. We're going to be stuck here all day." "No we're not" I retorted, "We got in and we're going to get out."
We boarded the passengers and started taxiing out to the runway. I went up to the flight deck to give the Captain the cabin secure checks and I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was the runway, as clear as clear, but on either side, standing like giant walls, were great banks of fog. It was like the Red Sea parting for Moses! To my knowledge, we were the only flight in or out that day.
As an amusing postscript - a dear friend of mine, who knew of the above experience (and many others) was walking in the Alps with her husband. They had spent two tough hours climbing to the top of a mountain peak and when they got there it was just completely covered with cloud. They couldn't see a thing. She thought "Judy wouldn't accept this." and literally, as she thought it, the cloud rolled back, gave them a fantastic view all around them and then closed in again after about 5 minutes. She was so thrilled!
I’ve got a couple more, but will put them below.
Cont…….
[url]Confidence in God Brings Assurance in Emergencies*/*[/url]
This is a transcript from a 1960 radio programme – don’t bother to read the bits by “Speaker” – just the “Mr. Burr” part.
And this one is another remarkable experience. I’ll include a few excerpts to give you a taste:
[url]The understanding that man lives in...*/*[/url]
We were attacked at twenty-two thousand feet. A large section of the nose where I was riding was immediately shot from the plane by 20 mm. cannon. Three engines were soon burning and out of control. We left formation and decided to abandon the plane……
But the escape hatch was jammed……
The pilot had been killed, and the copilot, who was badly wounded, came down to use the hatch. Seeing the situation, he turned and went back to the controls. He was forced to stand at the controls and put his head through the side window to see as the smoke from the engines was black in the cockpit. By this time the last engine had stopped and the plane was gliding smoothly, no longer under attack but burning……
Swept away by the current, saved by God
With all the extreme weather we in the UK and other parts of the world are having and the dangers that can be associated with it, (particularly water) I hope these experiences will reassure everyone that no matter how desperate the situation may seem to be that we, or a loved one (or anyone one) is in, there is a law of God when rightly applied, can bring about a rescue. We need to turn away from what the mortal senses are shrieking at us and to totally put our trust in God, divine Love and listen for Love's angel messages.
Here is one such promise of protection:
“Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me” (Psalms 139:7–10).
Or, if you prefer a more modern translation:
7 Can I go anywhere apart from Your Spirit?
Is there anywhere I can go to escape Your watchful presence?
8 If I go up into heaven, You are there.
If I make my bed in the realm of the dead, You are there.
9 If I ride on the wings of morning,
if I make my home in the most isolated part of the ocean,
10 Even then You will be there to guide me;
Your right hand will embrace me, for You are always there.
These two experiences I share today describe the worst possible scenario for any parent, as their child gets swept away by a raging river of water.....
The area was designed to keep swimmers away from the dangerous river currents, as they led to a large waterfall not far downriver. After some discussion, my wife and I felt our family would be safe as long as we stayed within the designated area and kept our children between us at all times while in the water.
We had a wonderful time for about an hour. Then, with our daughter resting safely on the riverbank, my wife and I continued playing with our four-year-old son. He was standing between us in knee-deep water, as he had not yet learned to swim. At one point, my wife and I inadvertently looked away from our son. Neither of us realized that the other was not watching him. Without warning, he accidentally slipped underwater without a sound. In a matter of seconds, he was pulled by an unseen current under the rope and out toward the center of the fast-moving river.
By the time I realized what had happened, my son was already out of my reach, floating face up just a few inches underwater and rapidly being pulled downriver. I could see his eyes wide open with fear, and bubbles coming from his nostrils. The situation was terrifying. I immediately dove under the ropes to try and save him while my wife stayed with our daughter. Despite swimming as fast as I could, I was unable to catch up to him. He was being drawn inexorably toward the waterfall.
This father received 3 specific angel messages. You can read the whole experience here: [url]Saved from a dangerous current*/*Christian Science Sentinel[/url]
And this is one where two children were swept away in a storm ditch:
"I ran toward the ditch, and the closer I got the louder the roar of the water became. I cannot describe the dread that I felt.."
[url]I am submitting this testimony because of an...*/*Christian Science Sentinel[/url]
Love and peace,
Judy
With the 4 sailors missing at sea, after their yacht capsized, I and I'm sure many others, have been praying, knowing that they can never be separated from divine Love, that the one universal Mind is present, guarding, guiding and governing.
In my prayers, I have remembered this wonderful promise from:
Ps. 139:7-10
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
and have been reminded of these words from a much-loved Christian Science article:
If a man were drowning in mid-ocean with apparently no human help at hand, there is a law of God which, when rightly appealed to, would bring about his rescue. Does the reader doubt this? Then he must believe that it is possible for man to find himself in a condition where God cannot help him. ([url]From God's Law of Adjustment[/url] by Adam Dickey)
I have also found some wonderful accounts of people who were rescued and it's so heartening to learn just how many have lived through days adrift in the ocean - like these:
I'll add some more in depth accounts in the next post.
Several of the accounts of rescue I found today were from WWII:
A rescue at sea during WWII
[url]""What cannot God do?" [/url]
[url]This is a mother speaking of her two sons:[/url]
One boy was a bomber pilot and was under fire much of the time while flying sixty-two combat missions. During these missions, although the plane was hit many times, not a man was wounded while our son was piloting. The crew said they felt safe while flying with him. On one mission flak grazed his head and leg without cutting the flesh. At another time part of the tail and controls of the plane were shot away, but he made a safe though wobbly landing. On another occasion over one hundred flak holes were made in the plane, but not a member of the crew was touched.
The other boy, who was in the Navy on a crash boat, was able to pick up and rescue many fallen flyers. On one occasion, groping his way in total darkness and asking God to direct his course, he was led to a boy afloat on a life raft, whose plane had crashed and sunk. He rejoices that his work in the service was to save lives.
And from a newspaper account:[url] “Faith to move mountains” [/url]
...his religious conviction was tested in 1945, when, at 23, he found himself marooned on a raft in the South Pacific for six days. He and his mates who were adrift had no food or water, but the experience galvanized his sense of faith.
The World War II Navy veteran was one of nine sailors who survived after their mine sweeper ran into a category-3 typhoon and sank. He watched helplessly as [four of his raft mates] died. Harrison longed to see his wife and 2-year-old son; at one point, he decided to give up."I bowed my head many times during the six days and prayed, but I didn't have faith; I was so upset with the Navy for not sending help," Harrison told the students. "I made up my mind I was going to die."
But a peak of a mountain that was visible on the horizon reminded Harrison of his childhood. "I thought of a scripture that my mother used to read to me and my younger brothers and sisters before we would go to school," he said.
The scripture said, "If you have the faith of a grain of mustard seed, God will remove the mountain," Harrison said.That's when he realized, he said, that he couldn't just bow his head down and pray for being saved, but that he needed to thank God for saving him first. Harrison persuaded his shipmates to pray and thank God for answering their prayers first.
"I must've thanked God 60 or 65 times in the next 15 minutes," he said. "After my prayer and thanking God, I got the feeling that the button had been pushed for our rescue."Less than an hour later, three aircraft rescued Harrison and his shipmates, he said. "I feel, in a big way, to me, those planes came from heaven," Harrison said.
And finally, Jesus' words:
Matt 10:26
... there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
Love and peace,
Judy
I overlooked this little snippet yesterday, but its message is so profound that I've come back to include it today:
Several months ago our daily newspapers carried a story of a soldier adrift on a raft. Having no light to signal with, he prayed fervently to God for deliverance. A pilot flying high above the raft saw a light, guided his plane to it, and effected a rescue. "I had no flashlight," explained the pilot on the raft, when he was rescued. Meekness calls for absolute reliance on God, and such reliance is always accompanied by divine illumination.
[url]"THE WAY THROUGH THE VALLEY" [/url]
Those young men are enfolded in Love.
Judy