But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10).

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to encounter an angel? I believe I did once during my first year of college. On my way to an early morning class, on a chilly morning, I turned the heat up in my car and it caused me to fall asleep when I was driving. This caused me to drift off the road, roll over through the median and end up on the other side of the highway. After flipping my vehicle, it continued advancing upside down on the highway toward oncoming traffic, I remember seeing broken glass and flames around me. It felt like I was dreaming. When my car finally stopped on the side of the road, I was hanging upside down, secured by my seatbelt, with a gash in my arm. 

A woman stood peering into my broken car window. She said, “Heidi, are you ok? I saw your accident and came to check on you. I already called the ambulance and called your professor to tell him why you wouldn’t be in class today. I will wait with you until help arrives.” I don’t remember what I said. I was in shock. I just remember her words of comfort to me, helping me not to be afraid. I do know that when the ambulance came, the woman was gone. I’d never seen her before that day and I never saw her again, but she knew my name and somehow knew about my class and professor. The police said it was a miracle that I was alive and that I didn’t crash into another vehicle when the road was usually full of cars. After that accident and my encounter with the unknown stranger, I felt that God had saved me for a purpose. In response to that, I got a bumper sticker that said, “Angels watching over me”. 

Angelic encounters appear throughout the Christmas story-and each one is unique, as was my own experience. Imagine being one of the shepherds, standing in a dark, quiet field, hearing only the bleating of sheep--Then suddenly: an angel! That would be scary in itself, but now the angel addresses you and has a message for you. The fact that the message begins with “Do not be afraid…” means that fear is often our first response to angelic visitations!”

But what a privilege it must have been to the shepherds to be chosen to visit the Messiah-Savior-Newborn King.  They got to hear firsthand from the angel that Jesus- the Savior- The Lord- was born (v11). By society’s standards, the shepherds were considered unclean and were unlikely candidates to be chosen. However, God’s ways are different from ours. Interestingly, He chose shepherds to have a front-row seat to the Good Shepherd’s birth. The angel also said that Jesus would bring great joy which would be for ALL people. Then Luke shared that “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God…” I love how Luke says that the shepherds dropped everything and went straight to Bethlehem. They left their ninety-nine to go in search, not for a lost sheep, but for the Lamb of God.  What a night of unspeakable joy!

You don’t have to have an angelic encounter to know that God loves you and created you for a purpose. That’s evident due to the fact that God sent his only Son to Earth so that you might know the One who knows you completely and loves you fully.  Let that knowledge resonate with you and fill you with joy as it did the shepherds.