A Modern Day Angel Story
One day, I was out canvassing in an old country town in rural Arkansas. I walked up to a mobile home with a very long driveway—probably about 100 yards. For some reason, I had this gut feeling that there was a loose pit bull somewhere on the property. It just gave me those vibes. Oddly enough, when I got closer, I realized there was no front door, so I had to walk around to the back of the house, which was far from the road. As I made my way up the wooden deck, my worst fear came true—there it was, a sleeping pit bull right next to the door! My heart started racing, and I slowly began to back up when—CREEK!—I accidentally stepped on a loose board. It let out this high-pitched creak, and in an instant, the dog shot up, locked eyes with me, raised its fur, and started snarling, baring its long, white teeth. Then came the barking. And then—it started coming toward me.
I had nowhere to run. I was way too far from the main road, and I definitely couldn’t outrun a pit bull even if I tried. The dog and I were just feet apart. It was slowly coming towards me, but then, out of nowhere, it stopped. Just froze. One second, it was ready to tear at me, and the next, it was looking past me—above my shoulder—like it saw something above me.
Now, I’m six feet tall, and I was standing on a deck about four feet high, so whatever it was looking at had to be at least twelve feet tall. The pit bull kept barking furiously, but its focus wasn’t on me anymore. I turned around, but there was nothing there. What was it looking at that stopped it in its tracks?
Right then, the owner ran outside, grabbed his dog, and pulled it inside with a look of shock on his face. He wasn’t interested in the books, so I just left. As I walked away, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just experienced something incredible. And then it hit me—"the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them"(Psalm 34:7).
We live in a dangerous world—bad things happen, people die, and sometimes life just doesn’t make sense. This world isn’t our home. There are times when God allows evil to happen, and other times when He doesn’t. But whether things go our way or not, it doesn’t mean He loves us any more or any less. In His infinite wisdom, He’s shaping everything—every event, every moment—to prepare us for His second coming.
Maybe some of you are going through a tough time right now. Maybe there’s a “dog” in your life—something trying to take you down, filling you with fear, pain, stress, or anxiety. But I want you to know that the same God who worked miracles in the Bible is still working today. He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us. He doesn’t say that everything will be good, but He does promise to work all things for good. In the end, He will defeat Satan and turn even the worst situations into something meaningful.
—Ruben Caro is a seminary student from Southern California, and will be graduating in December 2025. He has been married to his wife Esther for 14 years, and have two daughters Evangeline (10) and Geneva (8).