THE ANGEL AND THE HITCHHIKER

When I was a young man, I had several strange experiences. I want to share a couple of them with you today. This one happened when I was nineteen or twenty years old. I was a young Christian and I was always looking for opportunities to help others. When I saw someone with car trouble on the side of the road, I would stop and try to help. When I saw someone walking, I would always stop and offer them a ride.

One day, I was driving West on Highway 72 just outside Walnut, Mississippi. I saw a man walking on the side of the road and figured he needed a ride so I pulled off the road just in front of him to see if he did. I didn’t even have time to ask if he needed a ride. As soon as I stopped, he hurried to my car and opened the passenger side door, and got in. I asked him where he was going and he said, “Just up the road.”

He started talking as soon as he sat down. He didn’t give me much opportunity to say anything. In the midst of all his talking, he said he was an angel. I was surprised, and a bit skeptical. His eyes looked like he had been drinking, and his clothes and hair were a mess, so I had my doubts. I don’t remember half of what he said because he was talking a mile a minute. He talked about all kinds of stuff including God and angels, and then he started saying something about Mexican people being demons; Diablos, he said. Right away I knew he wasn’t what he was claiming to be.

He might be an angel, but not an angel of God. I didn’t know how to respond to the crazy things he was saying. When he seemed to finally be out of things to say, I nervously said, “Are you really an angel?” As I asked the question, I glanced his way. I could see that he was very angry as he turned and stared at me with bloodshot eyes and an evil look on his face. With a loud voice, he said, “Man, I don’t lie. You don’t know what I can do. I could kill you and take your car, and leave you on the side of the road. I could destroy that bridge and pick this car up off the road and fly us right across.”

At that point, I didn’t hear or understand anything else he said. I just remember he was talking loud and cursing. I was so scared that all I could do was pray. I said, “God, please help me. Please get this guy out of my car.” Well, God answered my prayer. A traffic light was just ahead, and Thank God it was red. As soon as I stopped, the guy opened the door and stepped out of the car, and walked away without saying a word. As soon as that light changed to green, I got out of there as fast as I could. I was so glad and so thankful to God for answering my plea for help. I thanked him over and over for protecting me and getting me away from that guy unharmed. Thank you again, Father. Thank you.

Another time, before that incident, I was on the same road, headed in the same direction, but further east. I was driving with the windows down enjoying the fresh air. It was late spring or early summer. It was late afternoon and the weather was nice. The sun was shining but there was a nice cool breeze. I remember seeing the yellow sage grass on the lower side of the road softly moving back and forth.

I was leaving Corinth, headed west when I saw a man walking West on the shoulder of the highway. He was carrying a small bag on his shoulder so I figured he was traveling a good distance. I pulled off the road a few yards in front of him and waited for him to walk up to the car so I could offer him a ride. He walked up to the passenger door and bent down to look inside the car. I said, “Do you need a ride?” He looked at me with a smile and said, “No, it’s a beautiful day. The sun is shining. I think I’ll just walk, and enjoy it for a while.” I said, “Okay. You have a good day.” He said, “And you as well.”

I checked for traffic, then pulled out on the highway. As I drove away, I glanced at the rear-view mirror to take a last look at the guy, but I didn’t see him. I quickly turned and look out my back window but he just wasn’t there. Where was he? What had happened to him? I thought he may have stepped down the embankment on the side of the road, or maybe he had sat down. Back then, the road was only two lanes, so I quickly turned around and went back to where I had stopped and talked to him. He was nowhere in sight. I looked everywhere, but he was just gone. He disappeared too quickly for any other explanation. I’m sure I encountered an angel that day. When that thought occurred to me, I remembered the smile and the look of peace on his face and how calm and gentle his voice was when he spoke to me, and then I was sure. He must have been an angel, or Jesus himself. That was an amazing experience. It reminds me of two verses from the Bible. One is found in Hebrews 13:2.

Hebrews 13:2
2 Do not forget to entertain strangers because by doing so, some have unknowingly entertained angels.

I’ve had several amazing experiences, and some very strange ones when stopping to help people and giving people rides on the highway over the years, and I’m so thankful to God for protecting me when I’m trying to help others. In our world today, it can be dangerous to deal with strangers, but that shouldn’t deter us from helping others. I still stop and offer to help people, but I pray first and ask God if I should. Sometimes he says yes, and sometimes he says no. If I don’t stop I always pray for them. Sometimes that’s all you can do for people anyway, but if it were me out there, I would hope someone would at least offer to help.

Constant communication with God is very important. 1 Thessalonians 5:1 says, “Pray without ceasing.” We need his guidance in every situation. We don’t need to wait until we’re in trouble before asking for his help. Many times, the messes we get ourselves in could have been avoided if we had just talked to him first. We can be good Christians. We can obey God and show love and kindness to others like we’re commanded and we can be safe from those who would harm us if we depend on him for help and guidance.

The second verse I was thinking of is found in Matthew 25:31-46 where Jesus is talking about what will happen in the judgment when he returns and separates the sheep from the goats; the saved from the lost.

He basically said, whatever we do to others in need, we are doing it to him.
We can help him or ignore him, but there’s a price to pay for ignoring people in need. Compassion for others seems to be rare these days but it shouldn’t be, and it wouldn’t be if we would all follow the Golden Rule that Jesus laid out in Matthew 7:12.

Matthew 7:12
12 So treat others like you want them to treat you…

If everyone would just follow this simple rule, the world would be a much better place.

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