There are four simple steps you can do to work with people:
- Noah teaches to Keep Awake to your feelings. Call this “self awareness.”
- John the Baptizer calls you to Repent from unfruitful behaviors. Call it “self regulation.”
- Katharena Von Bora Luther shows how to Be Patient and empathize with people.
- In this post you will learn from Angels to Not Be Afraid to socialize.
Don’t fear openly sharing your thoughts and feelings with others. You will have noticed that 75% of working with others is internal. The final 25% of external communication is so effective because you have taken the time empathize, self regulate, and be aware. Today we learn socialization not from mere mortals, but an angel.
Not Fitting In
One of the things that makes working with people difficult is feeling as thought you don’t fit in with what they are currently doing, thinking, or saying. You might feel out of step or atypical.
Joseph felt atypical when an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and asked him to do something unusual.
Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:20-21
The angel asked Joseph to remain with Mary, even though she was pregnant not with his baby. This was highly unusual, especially in a patriarchal culture.
Throughout the Bible when an angel shows up to communicate to someone the first words out of their mouth are, “Don’t Be Afraid.” Why is this? Some people think that angels must be terrifying to look at! Perhaps they are not conventionally “pretty” with flowing robes and rosy cheeks. Maybe their power and appearance are so overwhelming that mortals such as ourselves are overcome by fear when we see them.
Another possibility is that angels almost always ask people to do something unusual. This angel asked Joseph to defy conventional norms of marriage. Other Angels told prophets to publicly criticize kings thereby putting their own lives in danger.
The world can be so full of sin and far away from God’s desires that when an angel is sent to ask a human being to do something for God it is probably going to be perceived as unusual by most people. The person whom the angel is being visited by is probably going to be afraid that they don’t fit in.
Angels Have Spiritual Power
Angels appear in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. They are messengers of God. They are more powerful than human beings. It is thought that angels have a free will to be able to choose whether or not they would serve God. Tradition holds that Satan, who is the personification of evil, is a fallen angel that chooses not to follow God.
How do we understand angels in a more modern scientific point of view? Angels could be like a force or power that emerges from a group or culture. You have probably experienced something called, “organizational culture.” That is, organizations like businesses and sports teams, seem to have a shared attitude or personality that transcends any one person. It pervades members of the group, but somehow is larger than the mere sum of its parts. Some organizational cultures are positive and enjoyable. Other cultures can be difficult and even toxic. What if organizational culture is a secular rendering of angelic or demonic influence on a group?
God Sends Angels to Protect
According to the book of Revelation, the end of time will be marked by a spiritual struggle between the powers of good and evil. In the end, we believe, Jesus will lead all angels in a victory of life and goodness over death and evil. Demons will be no more. Angels will carry out their purpose to guide and protect humanity. God’s angel have already helped to protect humanity.
Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by the devil. He must have been starving, weak, and totally exhausted after the devil was finished tempting him. At that moment, “angels came and began to minister to him” Matthew 4:11.
When Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, we learn of the presence of angels. Jesus said, “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:53.
Angels Help Connect
After Jesus was crucified his disciples were terrified and scattered. On the third day Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the body of Jesus. There was an earthquake and an angel rolled away the stone to the tomb and announced the resurrection to them. But the angel instructed the women to go and tell the other disciples. The angel helped the disciples stay connected. Matthew 28:7.
People can relate to you and what you have to say because angels are helping. They are sending you to go out into the world.
Don’t Be Afraid to Socialize
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus. .
Matthew 1:24-25
You can imagine that Joseph and Mary had to tell their story to many people. They had to socialize with their friends, neighbors, and families. They traveled a lot as a young family: to Bethlehem, To Egypt, and back to Nazareth. Along the way it was essential to socialize. God sent angels to protect them along the way. God used angels to open hearts and minds to receive their message. They weren’t afraid to socialize and to tell this extraordinary thing that was happening.
Don’t be afraid to socialize with others. God put you on the Earth and gave you a mind to think with, and a heart to feel with. It is essential that you share. Do not be afraid that others won’t understand you. Don’t be afraid that you will say the wrong thing. Don’t fear the response of others. God needs you to work with others. People need to know God’s love, and you are the one God needs to share it. So go forth and work with God’s people! Keep awake to how you feel. Repent from actions that don’t bear fruit. Be Patient and empathetic. Don’t be afraid to socialize.
How have you experienced angels in your life?
Leave a Reply