Feeling the Heat

…ye will be my witnesses….

Acts 1:8

My father ranched when the TV weather report and a swirling wind gauge helped him plan his work days. The metal arrow on our wind gauge always pointed in the direction of the source of the wind. That was the only arrow in my life before discovering King Solomon’s analogy comparing children to arrows in the hand of a warrior (Psa. 127:4 NIV). I’d never considered my own life analogous to an arrow until recently. Oswald Chambers used the analogy to describe something most believers have experienced but, possibly, failed to understand:

A saint’s life is in the hands of God as a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see. He stretches and strains, and every now and again the saint says, “I cannot stand anymore.” But God does not heed; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, then He lets fly. We are here for God’s design, not for our own. *

We’ve all felt that stretching and straining and looked for ways to escape it. As a believer, remembering that my life doesn’t belong to me anymore helps me cope. I’ve been bought with the price of Christ’s blood. Because of that, God can use my life to accomplish His will—if I am willing to be an arrow in his bow. Watching for how the mysteries of His ways unfold in my life is one way to soothe the stretching and straining of my mind and heart. One glorious day, my work will be completed. Until then, I am here to be used by Him in whatever way He chooses. In the in-between time, when I feel that stretching and burning, I’ll remind myself that God is taking aim at something in His Kingdom that will be forever changed for His glory—if I’m willing to be an arrow in His hand.

Linda Lesniewski                                                                             Spiritual growth, sanctification

*The Love of God, Oswald Chambers pg. 101