Hosea 7

16They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt. (KJV)

16 They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. (NIV)

Imagine with me, if you will, a crisp November morning. You are awake and dressed in warm, camouflage clothing long before dawn and have found your way to your favorite hunting spot and await, in ambush, for the trophy buck all the signs indicate frequents the area. You've taken all provision to ensure the hunted is unaware of your presence. Dawn finally arrives, and with it that magical moment you have been waiting for when the trophy of a lifetime appears in front of you 50 yards or so. With your heart beating so loud in your ears you fear the deer hears it, you begin to gingerly bring your bow to the ready position as the deer cautiously makes its way toward you. With the deer a mere 20 yards away, you draw back the bow in an action that converts the energy in your arms to potential energy contained in the bowstrings. Silently, you release the bowstrings and the potential energy in converted into kinetic energy (action). Unfortunately, the only result of that energy is the "twang" of the bowstring and a slight shiver up your lead arm because you forgot to put an arrow in the bow.

That was rather anticlimactic was it not? But, it did get some of you guys' attention.

While my story was silly, allow me to attempt to use it as an analogy of how many times we spiritually have done this exact thing. We've all taken spiritual action to guard our hearts of sin X and Y and then, when we are set to release the work God wants us to do, nothing happens because hidden sin Z becomes our faulty bow. How many times have we worked diligently to better our own lives in some way only to have our efforts rebuffed at every turn because we did not seek the will of the Most High in the direction of our lives (the arrow was missing)? In all facets of our lives we have stood with good intentions, anticipation of results, full of potential energy (the bow drawn), only to find our efforts amount to nothing when we attempt to convert that potential energy to kinetic energy because we have failed to include God in our efforts. Instead, we have relied our humanity and not on the Most High.

Gentlemen, let us be so careful to ensure that in all areas of our life we have sought the will of God, that we have been spiritually diligent, and that we have stood still long enough to hear that still, small voice that will lead us in His ways. When we do this, our energy will be directed in ways that are pleasing to the Most High and our individual areas of ministry will flourish. And, for you deer hunters out there, maybe you will remember the arrows and actually kill more deer. 

Thom Creel