Angels of Humility: A Novel by Jackie Macgirvin Page A

jail. If you don’t sell the land, you could be the town’s hero; then you could tell everyone about Je-Je-Je, God’s son,” stuttered Lying, breaking out in a sweat. “If you sell the land, you’ll have to stay in your house hiding the rest of your life. You’ll die a lonely recluse. What kind of a witness is that?”
    “You could be dead for months and no one would even notice. They’d probably throw a party when you die!” whispered the raspy voice of a mocking spirit.
    Malta began to sing, “When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” 2 The demons screeched and temporarily retreated to the back of the car where they huddled together, baring their fangs, snarling, and snapping at the two angels.
    In desperation she cried out, “God, why does doing Your will have to make everyone mad? I need a friend. Is it too much to ask to have just one friend to confide in? Someone who doesn’t think I’m crazy? This is too hard for me! I’m so lonely, and I miss George, and now the whole town hates me. You have to show me whether I should sell this land. Please speak to me, please. Please help me. I don’t know what to do.” She broke down sobbing again.
    “Sarah,” said Malta gently, “The Lord loves you, and in His wisdom He allows spiritual warfare to test and prove your faith. If you trust God, and don’t accuse Him, He can use this hard time to work spiritual growth, humility, and authority into your character. He even tells us that we must endure hardship. The apostle Paul said,
‘Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus…do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army.’” 3
    Sarah was in too much emotional pain to be very concerned about character growth that night. After crying out all her tears, she was physically exhausted and afraid that if she stayed there any longer she might not have the energy to push open the gate. I
don’t want to sleep in the car all night
. After a little help from Joel, the gate swung open. She put the car in gear and headed home.
    An evil presence flooded the car. The gargoyle-like spirit of Death had an assignment to carry out. “She must be stopped. The master grows impatient,” he spewed angrily. “Get out of my way!” With his hooked talons he struck the black, low-ranking imps and sent them sprawling.
    On the outskirts of the city, with no lampposts to help light the road and her eyesight still somewhat obscured by tears, the car drifted to the gravel shoulder on the right side of the road. In a panic, Sarah quickly overcorrected and shot across both lanes and through the ditch, where Malta brought the car to an abrupt stop. Sarah flew forward and banged her face on the steering wheel. Her emotions were on edge and her body was quaking.
    “You don’t have permission to take her life, you vile, deceptive spirit. I command you to leave by the blood of Jesus.” Death didn’t wait for Joel to draw his sword; the mention of the blood was sufficient. He departedcursing and vowing revenge. “We owned her for 71 years, and if she won’t renounce God, we’ll take her life.”
    Sarah felt something trickle into her left eye. She dabbed at her forehead. A cut across her eyebrow saturated the tissue with blood. She sobbed again, not as much from the pain as from the frustration of her situation.
    Joel attended to Sarah, comforting, and encouraging her in the Lord’s goodness and love for her.
    “Even though you walk, or in this case, drive, through the valley of the shadow of death, you need not fear any evil. He is protecting you, even preparing a banquet for you to enjoy as He holds your enemies at bay.” 4
    After she stopped shaking and the bleeding stopped, she looked outside for the first time. In front of her the headlights illuminated weeds that were as