Walking To JerusalemSample

Valley of Elah – The City of Transition

Have you ever seen an arrow in the hands of an archer? Invariably the archer must draw the arrow backward—placing it under pressure and pulling it into tension— in order to see the arrow fly. Sometimes God will pull you backward as He did with David—but just to prepare you to fly forward. The pressure and the tension are both needed to fuel your flight; the greater the tension, the greater the velocity. But the more “backward” you feel in that process, the higher you will eventually fly. I call this the “Arrow Principle,” and I have seen it active in the lives of many people I have pastored over the years. With God, a backward move is not necessarily negative, because He might be testing to see if you can handle a promotion. If you can submit to the process of seemingly losing ground, you will be ready to gain so much more.

Margaret is one of the wonderful women in my Denver church. Some years ago, her ex-husband fell sick and needed someone to care for him. Margaret had been estranged from her ex-husband and her life had gone in another direction entirely, but when their children informed her of the situation, she committed to seek God’s will. In prayer, she felt the Holy Spirit leading her to help him. So she promptly rearranged her life, career, and goals in order to fully assist her ex-husband. Many of her friends and family members thought she was crazy to put her life on hold and “go backward” to care for him. But Margaret felt this was the right thing to do. With unwavering faith in God, she took the risk of putting her own life on hold to serve this man.

Many Sundays I would see Margaret help her ex-husband into our services. She would sit beside him to ensure he made it to church and heard the Word. She got him to his numerous hospital visits on time, prepared his favorite meals, and even made sure his bills were paid and up to date. She also spent endless hours researching the many different governmental and hospital programs available to him. She sat on hold for hours, navigating through elaborate government phone trees. Margaret patiently debated with customer service representatives and explained the case over and over. In time, she helped to construct a system of support for him that would make his last years comfortable. She totally surrendered her own life goals for a season to benefit him, and I was amazed by her Christian example. She is one of the unsung heroes who have helped frame my own views of what being a real Christian looks like in practice.

Soon Margaret had amassed files full of contacts, phone numbers, and resources that could help people when they were in all manner of crisis. She didn't limit her research simply to what was helpful to her situation; she retained all of the information she gathered because she knew other people would need help navigating the oceans of red tape and bureaucracy she had traversed. And Margaret didn’t just collect phone numbers; she made friends in many agencies and organizations.

Today, Margaret runs her own successful business—I call it a ministry. She helps connect ordinary people to the resources they qualify for and desperately need. Her "backward" movement eventually and propelled her even farther. Her sacrifice to benefit another person both sensitized her and equipped her to serve others facing similar challenges. Now she is able to make her living assisting others. Her smile is still infectious and her eyes seem to sparkle even more as she guides many people through the maze of bureaucratic barriers and leads them to the resources they need.

Margaret's experience was like an arrow. Her life seemed to be pulled backward for a while. She endured tremendous pressure as she simultaneously cared for her ex-husband, learned the "system," and managed her personal life. But all of that set her up to fly and hit her mark. She moved into another season of her life, with greater service to others.

If you examine your own life, you will see lots of times this arrow principle has been in effect. Backward is not always bad. Sometimes it is the precursor to God doing something incredible in your life. You are not ready for forward transition until you can pass the test of backward transition. A true servant is comfortable tending kings or tending sheep, and that attitude of submission is vital to future success.