I watched her from the kitchen window, standing in the backyard, her bow in hand, arrows at her side. She needed to practice shooting for the state meet. But she was struggling. Fear had overcome her and she was frozen in place like a statue, her bow arm extended and shaking until she couldn’t hold her arm up any longer…
fiery arrows, shot directly at her heart.
I had said everything I knew to say and now it was up to her. No amount of logical statements or encouragement from me was going to work. She would have to find a way to overcome her fear and doubt and shoot the target the way she was accustomed to doing so well.
Her situation was not lost on me. In new and unexpected ways I’ve recently experienced my own set of fears. And God help me, I know what it means to worry. I understand what it feels like to have that uncontrollable urge to run away and hide, attempting to avoid life altogether. The way my insides can turn to wobbly jello in two seconds flat, or that large knot in the pit of my stomach; I know it all personally.
In so many ways this is becoming a summer of courage for our family. It seems each of us individually are finding ourselves in distress or difficulty, some monumental, some probably inconsequential in the long run, but all of us in need of a protector and rescuer. Fiery arrows of fear and worry and doubt, hurled at us, can only be quenched and averted one way. With Scripture ignited in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit we can find the life-giving courage for each of our troubles, and the protection that we need, just like Paul describes in Ephesians 6.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Fortunately I have come across just the right resource to help us. Our Seeds Family Worship CD titled, “Seeds of Courage” is refreshing, and it is renewing our spirits. We have begun learning the first three passages, and we will continue to learn the rest of the verses over the course of the summer. (You can keep up with the Scripture we are learning this Summer on my Soul Food page, here on the blog.)
I can’t tell you how invigorating and empowering it has been to pick up the Sword of the Spirit and use it. Praise God for the ongoing work He is performing in our hearts and minds.
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I thought I’d share some excellent news with you! Emily, my sweet girl-archer, was given the gift of courage last weekend and was able to shoot at the 4-H state archery meet. I believe our prayer and Scripture memory was just what she needed to shoot without fear. And out of more than 60 jr archers, she received 9th place. We are rejoicing and celebrating the results of her first archery competition!
daily portion 