“Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord. And the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth.
Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed; but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate”Ps.127:3-5
A quiver is a place where arrows are kept. Jeffrey Archer wrote a book titled “A Quiver full of Arrows”. God likens children to arrows and says happy is the man that has his quiver full of these arrows. Arrows are kept in the quiver for a purpose: to shoot them at specified targets. God is looking for those He will shoot as arrows to pull down the gates of hell and establish His Kingdom this season.
“…they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate”
He expects us to be His battle axes for the end time harvest. My findings have shown that each time we list the weapons of warfare, the one that is rarely mentioned is that, we ourselves are God’s weapon of warfare. We talk about the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the word of God, etc. but we rarely talk about ourselves as weapons of warfare.
“You are my battle axe and weapons of war, for with you will I break in pieces the nations, and with you will I destroy kingdoms.
And with you will I break the horses and his rider; and with you will I break the chariot and his rider;
With you also will I break in pieces man and woman; with you will I break in pieces old and young; with you will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
I will also break in pieces with you the shepherd and his flock; I will also break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you will I break in pieces captains and rulers. Jeremiah 51:20-23
We the first weapon of warfare in God’s hand. In Oswald J. Smith book, “The man God uses”, we see the qualities expected to be found in anyone that will be useful battle axe in the hands of the Almighty, but beyond all the likely known qualities expected to be found in usable vessels is the hidden virtue the Lord is ever in quest for: availability.
Available Vessels
Every move of God is always pioneered by available vessels, from Noah down to Apostle Paul. They were not really perfect, as it were, but had in them virtues that made them God’s weapon of transformation for their generation. All these virtues could be wrapped up in one word; Availability.
The three Hebrew boys “shot” to Babylon humbled the idol of Nebuchadnezzar, the Fourth man manifested without them struggling to invite Him into the heathen’s strange fire. (Dan. 3:17-25). They preached the gospel without tracts or pulpits; they preached the gospel by taking their stand in righteousness for the Lord. That’s what availability is primarily about. This is what the Lord is expecting from all the youths in the Church today. He is not looking for able youths but available youths that He could enable with His grace.
Have you wondered why Jesus said that “labourers are few”? We have multitude who claimed to be followers but not labourers. The Lord is not looking for followers who cannot labour in the harvest field. These labourers are His Arrows.
There are six qualities of good arrows that the Lord desire to see in His labourers. These are
Sharpness
Straightness
Strength
Connectivity
Submissiveness and
Indwelling in the quiver
SHARP ARROWS
“And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me” Is.49:2
“And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword.” Implying that God desire your mouth to be as sharp as the sword.Gospel without power is mere gist and gossip. He desire us to walk in the authority He gave to us, to bind and to lose in His name. As a youth He desire us to be on the cutting edge for exploit and dominion.
To remain sharp will demand us to get immersed in the pool of God’s word, exercise our spirit in fasting and prayer and also develop the right relationship through which we can sharpen each other.
You must remain sharp for God if you want to sustain your relevance in His Kingdom.
STRAIGHT ARROWS
To be straight means to be without curve, angles or crookedness. It depicts single direction and uprightness. Arrows that will be effective are not only sharp but also very straight. Crooked stick are never considered for the production of arrows. Uprightness is a fundamental prerequisite for warfare.
“And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me” Isa.49:2
This means he took me, picked up His chisel and knife, saw some joints, some crookedness and peeled them off. He also saw some dishonesty, malice, pride, anger and peeled it off. You need to be straight not to miss your target. You can’t be crooked and be effective in the Hands of the Almighty. He desire you to avail yourself in the bowl of His will to straighten you up before Ho shoot you to nations.
STRONG ARROWS
“The people that do know their God, they shall be strong and do exploit”
The integrity of the Arrows is not just in their sharpness and uprightness, but also their strength. Jesus said that everyone that hears this word and does them shall be likened to a man that builds his house on the rock, which can withstand the storms of life. The strength of the arrow is seen in its ability to pierce the gates of hell and still remain useful. Your strength will be tested not just by the exploits you do for God but also by the trials and challenges you were able to overcome.
ARROWS CONNECT
“He hath bent his bow and set me as a mark for the arrow” Lamentations 3:12
Life is designed not to be lived in isolation of others. There are very few things we can achieve alone and little impact we can make without others. Arrows are shot from a platform, and such platform should be acknowledged and celebrated if the arrows will make tangible impact. Sharp arrows on a weak bow won’t go far.
We must learn how to synergize as Soldiers of Christ with other ministry gifts in the Body of Christ. If God has called you to “go” do not neglect the platform that will make your going easy. If you have been called to preach, do not neglect those who will prepare the ground for you. If yours is singing, you must acknowledge the instrumentalists that will make your ministry accepted. The principle of acknowledging other ministry gifts that will make yours outstanding is what I call “Connect”. It’s your ability to flow together with other soldiers to hit your target. Arrows rest on bows to be shot. It is futile effort when arrows are ready and bows are not available. It is amazing the impact we make when we have the right person to lean upon. You are not wired to succeed alone. Develop how to relate with others. You can’t reach your future alone.
SUBMISSIVE ARROWS
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” James 4:7
Arrows don’t shoot themselves, someone will have to do that. Learning to submit to establish authorities will take you far in your life’s journey. It is acknowledging the existence of God’s divine structure of operation. It reflect your humility index and your ability in resisting rebellion.
Silently, submissiveness of an arrow to the will of God make the arrow fit to be shot by the Archer. Identify and honour those whom God has placed in authority over your life. It will help to secure the grace of God upon your life.
ARROWS DWELL IN THE QUIVER
“Abide in me, and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the Vine; no more can ye except ye abide in me” John 15:4
Arrows have an established dwelling place, inside the quiver. God expect us to abide in Him perpetually if we want to remain fruitful and relevant before Him. He is the source of our totality. Grace flow ceaselessly when we remain connected to the throne of grace. This will demand you to maintain unbroken fellowship with the Lord in the place of prayer and in the ministry of prayer. You must mark your attendance before the Lord daily. This is His will for your life.
Remain as a youth. It’s your turn. The Lord is looking for available arrows He can shoot to nations, and to the seven mountain of influence to establish His Kingdom. This is your calling. This is your purpose. This is your day.
Chris Sola Mene
