Chapter 10
I AM In the Shadow of His Hand
Isaiah 49:2 says, "... in the shadow of His hand hath He hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in His quiver hath He hid me." I was trying to imagine hiding down in God's quiver. How snug and safe would that feel?
Now this verse is actually a prophecy about the Messiah. Isaiah was proclaiming that Jesus would be like a carefully made and polished arrow in the service of the Lord, ready to be used at the right time. This "hiding in the shadow of His hand" was referring to the “hidden” years of Jesus when He lived in obscurity, as a polished shaft waiting in the quiver of the Lord. At exactly the right moment, just as the arrow is taken out of the quiver when the deer shows up, Isaiah said Jesus would be taken from God's quiver to begin His ministry on earth.
God may be preparing you to minister to someone going through the same thing as you are. You may be experiencing stress and anxiety these days, often for no discernible reason. Too often you have a general feeling of dread, a feeling that something is about to go wrong – you just don’t know what yet. But God can make all things work out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28), and He has a future plan for you (Jeremiah 29:11) that will incorporate all these past experiences into something that will bring Him glory.
The Lord is hiding you down in His quiver, protecting you in the shadow of His hand, while you grow in faith and confidence. During this time, He wants you to study His Word and learn how to fight those feelings of fear and anxiety. Memorize verses that minister to you when you are worried or anxious. You will be able to share them with others later. This is God’s “Witness Protection” plan in operation, giving you time to prepare for ministry.
When the time is right, there will be a special person who crosses your path who needs to hear from you. You will know when that time has come. The Lord wants you to be His witness, to talk about the fear and anxiety you fought for years. He wants you to testify about how He brought you through to a season of peace. Be prepared to share the Bible verses you memorized, and pray with this person.
Continue to Chapter 10: Questions
