The Arrow and The Archer
“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.”
I had a very vivid dream that marked me one night. I knew God was speaking to me through it and so I took some time to ponder it. I didn’t have complete clarity, but I decided to look into some of the aspects of the dream to try to glean some understanding in what God was saying. It lead me to study ARROWS. I’ve always heard the saying “straight as an arrow” and took it for what it said, assuming that was what arrows did...they stayed straight until they hit their target. But I learned the opposite is true. According to World Archery, “The arrow can’t react to all this energy simultaneously (after being released) and different parts gain momentum at different speeds. In essence, the back of the arrow, which is the first to receive energy from the string moves faster than the front. Unable to leave the bow immediately the arrow starts to absorb some of that energy by bending before it gets on its way to the target.” So the arrow wouldn’t be able to hit its target without going through the process of bending back and forth. I looked up videos of an arrow leaving the bow and was amazed to see how wobbly they were!
I LOVE drawing parallels so I began to think about myself as an arrow and God as The Archer. I think for me in life, I’m always looking for the quickest and easiest way to get from point A to point B. Whether it’s something as simple as finding the closest parking spot or not having arguments in relationships, I want the easy way, not the hard way, not the path marked with pain and suffering. But most often in life, I’ve found it’s almost never the easy path that God has us on. It is the hard one, the one that bends us back and forth until we eventually hit the target He has for us to land on.
The year 2020 certainly proved to be a harder path in many ways for so many people. A year filled with loss, grief and pain. But I can also look back on 2020 and see how (and not so willingly at times), God has molded me and shaped me to be a better version of myself. I may not have landed on my target yet, and may still be feeling the bending on my way there, but I know My Archer and His plans for me are good no matter what my circumstances might look like. Here’s to another year in the Lord! May we trust Him even deeper and see the love He has is so wide and high and deep as we continue to bend back and forth on our way to our targets.
“Jesus, you promise to never let us break even when we are bending. Thank you for holding me and pointing me towards purpose even in the midst of pain and suffering. You are good.
Help me see the purpose of my life as I place the arrows of my heart in your hands. No matter the circumstances, help me know that you are loving me, holding me, and aiming me right at the target of my life.
In Jesus name, Amen.”
Meet Cheri!
Cheri is a woman of great purpose raising two amazing kiddos alongside her husband in upstate NY. She is passionate about connecting people to the heart of God through writing about her experiences with him. She believes that the power of God can transcend any and every situation (including 4 quarantines in 5 months) that give satisfying hope to all of humanity.
