Revelation 19:7-9 (KJV) "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, these are the true sayings of God."
Isaiah 49:2b "He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver."
God is looking for a bride willing to be transformed into a "vessel of honor" fit for His use. This transformation takes place in the lives of believers who are proactively submitting to the process of God. This process includes actions or changes that prepare people for the work God has called them to do. This process is never easy work, but rather it is the "molding" and "shaping" through our obedience that transforms us into vessels that bring honor. We are His workmanship.
We see in this text *[see scripture above] that the Lord's desire is to find a mature bride who has done what is necessary to make herself ready for Him, one who, by her own free will, has arrayed herself in the prescribed wedding garments. She is not forced, but given a choice, and she makes that choice out of reckless abandonment for her beloved. We live in the age of preparation. God is now offering us an opportunity to prepare for eternity in His kingdom, but it is our choice whether or not we will prepare. We may wonder if preparation is even possible, and if so, what that process encompasses. Adequate preparation is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit; the training is not easy and requires effort on the part of each individual. Spiritual maturity does not come through a prayer line and is not imparted, but is walked out in a person's life.
Arrow Making
Let's learn some lessons by looking closely at arrow making:
A piece of wood must go through a long and complicated process before it becomes that polished arrow in the hand of the Old Testament archer. It does not happen overnight. The arrow head must be hardened, tempered in fire. Like an arrow, people must also go through the proverbial fire if they are going to be used by God to hit their target (His purpose for their lives).
Hebrews 12:29 says, "For our God is a consuming fire." He purges us through the fire. A heart purged with fire is a heart consumed by His love. His divine nature is fashioned in us as the impurities surface. When we deal with these impurities we grow to be like Jesus.
The process of arrow-making takes great patience. High quality, dependable arrows cannot be made in haste. Skilled Old Testament archers actually began making their arrows one year in advance. They first had to find just the right kind of wood, most often the branches of an almond tree, because its branches grew straighter than any other, and it was one of the first to bud in spring. For our purposes here the almond tree symbolizes "resurrection power." God uses great patience to develop us into vessels of honor. As the fire burns away the dross (sin) in our lives, our obedience produces resurrection power (the almond tree) that burns away the old things, and we become brand new creatures in Christ.
Once the branch was cut down the next step was to strip off the bark. Dead bark represents the removal of the flesh. Maturity takes time. Once He cuts the knots (strongholds) and burrs (bad habits) from our lives we become the type of arrow God can use. "Stripping" is never comfortable but is a part of the process. Joseph was stripped of his coat of many colors (favor) before he finally put on the garments of a ruler. He endured a painful stripping process before he eventually became the prime minister (polished arrow).
"Your Lord desires to purify your soul, and He can use a very rough file. Yes, He may even assault the purer and nobler things of your life! These assaults serve as a revelation to awaken the human soul...for the soul to truly discover, to truly know, just how miserable is its natural state." - Michael Molinos
Sanding Makes Straight
Archers would begin to shape the wood into an arrow first by sanding it. In the same way friction (sanding) will bring you closer to Him if you let it. I want to encourage you not to become disillusioned when God is sanding you, because He is making the "crooked places straight" [or the rough spots smooth]. Next, the arrow is soaked in water to expose the grain of the wood. Just when we think we are ready to be used by God for our target (purpose) He lets us soak in the water of the Spirit. This brings to the surface the inner workings, thoughts, and imaginations of the heart that must be dealt with if we want to be vessels of honor.
More sanding and more soaking follows until the arrow is exactly the right size and shape. Though it may seem that such repetition is extreme, it is absolutely necessary for the production of high quality arrows. The Word of God sands flat the ungodly things in our lives. This, of course, is not enjoyable because we are not being used for our purpose yet, but without this process we would not achieve our goal and would absolutely fail to hit our target. Skipping steps and cutting corners will lead to inferior, poor, or average quality arrows that are incapable of serving the purpose for which they were created. This is why character development is so important if we want to be capable of hitting our target (purpose).
When the arrow is completed the archer takes the arrow shaft and places it in his quiver. This is a proving time-a waiting room, that will prove whether the arrow will bow or warp. Before the archer can add the arrowhead to the shaft he must make sure the new shaft will stay straight. Shortchanging the arrow's proving time often means it will not be equal its required task. The quiver can be a very dark and lonely place, where we are frustrated and feel that little is being accomplished. But our heavenly Father knows best, and if we're not ready to be used we will begin our journey prematurely and miss our target entirely, resulting in great frustration and even causing us to question the call of God on our lives.
If you stay in the quiver and wait for the great archer to take you out and apply yourself you will be able to support (prove) the weight of the work. The archer will then select the bow with which to release you to hit your target and accomplish what He has called you to do.
We are God's arrows. He is the master archer, and our target is our purpose and destiny in life. He decides when to release us, sending us out toward that destiny. In His perfect timing He launches us to hit our target with great impact. It's not easy to go through fire, stripping, sanding, and soaking, but they are part of the process of becoming vessels of honor fit for His use. We are His workmanship and our obedience brings Him honor.
Steve Porter
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