Faulty Bows

“I long to redeem them...They gather together for grain and new wine...They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow” Hosea 7:13b-16.

I can’t help but to notice that our passage talks about God’s people gathering together for grain and new wine. But the intent is not to commend them for this, but to convict them for their misguided efforts. What is their faulty bow? It is using their own wisdom and their own agenda to aim towards a desire. God desires to redeem them, and give them the answers they need. But they handle things in their own way, coming up with their own ideas before giving God the time to speak to them. They ready ...aim...release and the bow is wobbly at best, detouring into a target that harms instead of helps. Why? Because they did not turn to the Most High and wait on Him to reveal His way, His will and His purpose.

How many times do we take the bow into our own hands with good intent and aim and release only to skewer another heart? In what ways do we gather our thoughts, and develop a plan to escape a predicament we are in before turning to God for the answers? I read the most beautiful explanation of being a bow in the hand of God. Jennifer Rothschild, author of Hosea – Unfailing Love Changes Everything writes “A faulty bow can’t shoot straight. Bent to go our own way, we land in places we don’t want to be – places of stress, shame and slavery to habits. God has a better way. God is the Archer – He chose us. We are in His hands. He has a best scenario for us. He knows what our hearts long for, and He knows how to get us there. God is the master Archer. You are the bow. Your gifts abilities, desires and calling are the arrows” p.128-129.

When we truly turn every decision over to God, trust in His timing and watch Him work in the situation we will hit the target every time. When we align God’s will to become our will no matter how long it takes we share the same desire...the same target...the same purpose. It’s easy to say we’ll pray about something but when we make decisions before hearing from God our bows are destined to miss. The results can hurt others, make our situations worse and delay God’s best for our lives.

May we all lay down our faulty bows, be the bows we were created to be, allowing the Archer to bend us so that our aim will be His perfect plan for us.