The Angel

Don’t ask me why, but the other night, when my wife was out hanging with her friend, I was watching the 1994 classic, Angel’s in the Outfield. Even though this movie came out 3 years before I was born and it’s technically a kids movie, there is still a great lesson to be learned about faith. Every time the boy saw an angel, the manager would make a decision for the team that made no sense at all. The choices looked crazy from the outside and there was nothing logical about it. But the boy kept seeing angels and the manager kept trusting. He acted on something invisible, and every time he did, the team would win because of it.

In the book of Acts chapter 8, an angel of the Lord told Philip the Evangelist, “Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (Acts 8:26) That was it. No plan. No explanation. No details about what would happen when he got there. But Philip didn’t question it.

He trusted that if God was sending him, then God must have a purpose. So he got up and went. On that road, Philip met an Ethiopian official reading the book of Isaiah, confused and searching for answers. The Bible says, “Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:35) Because Philip obeyed by faith, the man believed, was baptized, and carried the gospel back to his home country.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Trust begins where understanding ends because God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Real faith requires trust, and trust requires action. James 2:26 says, “Faith without works is dead.” Just like the manager trusting the boy in Angels in the Outfield, and Philip walking a road that made no sense, faith is acting on God’s Word even when we don’t see the full outcome or completely understand.

Maybe it’s having a difficult conversation you’ve been avoiding, showing kindness to someone who doesn’t deserve it, or stepping into a responsibility you feel unprepared for. For me, it means not complaining when difficult situations arise in my life trusting that God is at work. I want to follow Jesus today, trusting in His guidance and relying on His strength for every step I take. Pray this prayer with me today:

Lord, I humbly submit myself to Your plan today. I choose to trust You with the next steps You’ve placed before me, even when I don’t see the full outcome. Help me pick up my cross and follow Jesus by faith, without complaining. Make my paths straight, and use the steps I take for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

The Bigger Picture: Faith is trusting God and acting on His guidance, even when we can’t see the full outcome.