Strike the Mark
God was the Archer; Jesus was the arrow, and the cross was the target. The Lord our God set into motion when Adam and Eve sinned His eternal plan of redemption. He prophesied that redemption would ultimately win.
Listen to what Genesis 3:15 says;
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel. (Genesis 3:15 AMPC)
From the moment when mankind was separated from God, He put a plan forth that would finish it once and for all. This is who our God is, and will always be. He is a God of redemption. His plans never fail. This was the first glimpse forward in time where we would be able to understand as we having the benefit of looking backwards at what was said, and then what took place 4000 years later.
Listen to what Isaiah 49:1-2 says;
Even then, God was preparing my mouth to speak like a sharp sword. He kept my purpose quiet, kept me safe in the shadow of His hand, He crafted me into a sharp-tipped arrow and tucked me away in His quiver; (Isaiah 49:1-2 Voice)
Other versions in the bible refer to the arrow as being a polished shaft. So, our Father in Heaven shot an arrow and hit the bull’s eye. Prophetically God spoke that Jesus was the arrow. We hear in the scriptures only a little bit about Jesus early years.
We receive a glimpse of when he was twelve. He was found in the temple and His statement was that He was about His Fathers business. Then 18 years pass and we hear nothing.
He was a polished shaft hid in His Fathers quiver. He was hidden until the assignment He was given had come to fullness of time.
The arrow was a prophetic picture of stability. This over time would come to pass and would indeed hit the target. The tip of the arrow speaks of the word of God in His mouth. A polished shaft is totally straight. It will not be diverted from its mark and mission. The feathers on the end keep it from going off course. Jesus hit the target and that was the cross. He died and in that place every prophecy that had been spoken was finally brought forth in an understanding of what had just transpired.
Now I have said all of this to make a very clear point. Jesus had an appointed time when He had been prepared. Often times we want to run ahead of God missing the point that it is still not our time. In our lack of understanding, we in our frustration, either walk away because of the length of time, or we run ahead of God and in doing so “Miss The Mark.”
Let us look at for a minute what happens when we miss the mark. It is first of all very costly. Sin is what happens when we force forward in disobedience. It litterly means to go off the right path. It is also an indication that we have failed to hit the bull’s eye on the target that was being set before us. Sin is the failure to be what we could have been.
As God’s word is being imparted into our hearts, it becomes a sharp sword. The tip of the arrow is the word spoken from what we have stored up in our hearts. Our character is being polished into who we are. It speaks of our holiness and that we have been trained correctly by truth.
We have been trained to stay the course, the feathers on the end of the arrow have made sure we did not get off course. Not allowing life’s distractions to divert our attention.
This is the point, when we allow God the ability to transform us and use us, it will always hit the mark. As we wait upon His timing, He will not be late. We do not become an arrow ➵ over-night where we will automatically hit the target. God hides us away and over time creates within each one of us the ability to “Strike the Mark.”
The question remains, have you allowed the Lord the process in your life to polish you, to hide you, to conceal you. Have you allowed the timing of the Lord in your life to be brought forth so when He releases you from His bow you “Strike the Mark?”
Have you made Him your audience of one? Have you spent the time that is necessary to be used by the Lord in a way that will bring Him the glory and honor that is due too His name? Our whole purpose needs to be expanding the Kingdom of God. If we are not doing that then we are not concerned with turning people’s hearts back to God. This is our whole duty, and if it is not, then we are “Missing the Mark.”