A quiver is defined as a container for holding arrows, bolts and darts usually put around the warrior. Have you felt at some point that there is more to what or where you are right now? Then you will find this very encouraging.

Isaiah 49: 1-7

"Listen to me, O isles and coast lands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb; from the body of my mother He has named my name.

² And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand has He hid me and made me a polished arrow; in His quiver has He kept me close and concealed me.

³ And [the Lord] said to me, you are my servant, Israel [you who strive with God and with men and prevail], in whom I will be glorified.

⁴ Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in empty futility; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense is with my God.

⁵ And now, says the Lord—who formed me from the womb to be His servant to bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him and not be swept away, for I am honorable in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength

⁶ He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.

⁷ Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and Israel’s Holy One, to him whom man rejects and despises, to him whom the nations abhor, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see you and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, Who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, Who has chosen you".

Moses was a Hebrew even though he grew up in the house of Pharaoh, he had a heart for the Israelites and as a result killed an Egyptian. Just when one thought God had raised a deliverer for the Israelites, God put Moses into hiding for a long period until the time was right.

David was a young boy when he was anointed King, but he did not become king until the age of thirty   (2 Samuel 5:4). He also went through a period of hiding and God preserved him until the time was right. So be encouraged when it seems like God has been preparing for so long and you seem to be in “hiding”. Let’s look at Isiah 49:2; “And he has made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hands he has hidden me, and He made me a polished shaft, in his quiver he has hidden me”. After the warrior spent so much time making, polishing and sharping, then he hid the arrow in his quiver, however, the great warrior knows when to bring out his best arrows from his quiver! Glory to God.

In verse 3 The Lord Spoke saying “You are my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” and verse 6 explains that most of the time, God has a bigger plan! That it is too small a thing for Isaiah to restore just the tribes of Jacob, but God will make him a light for the Gentiles so that His salvation may reach the ends of the earth.  It is just a quiver season, in God’s own time, He will bring you out of hiding for his glory!

Yours in the Walk...

Psalm 23 is one of the popular psalms in the bible written by King David, but I recently took a deeper look at the Psalm and I was refreshed by the revelation I got from it and I will like to share them with you.

Only a good shepherd could have written that psalm. A good and experienced shepherd for that matter, a shepherd who knew how to take care of his sheep and David was obviously a good and experienced shepherd. He speared nothing, he killed every lion and bear that came and carried off a sheep and rescued the sheep (1 Samuel 17:34-35).

David had to be a shepherd before becoming a king. He knew how to tend a flock, he was committed to the job. As young as he was, being the youngest of eight sons (1 Samuel 16:10), his father’s heart trusted him most to care for the sheep, despite all the dangers surrounding the job, David ensured not one of the sheep was missing. This experience made him write Psalm 23 through the eyes of a good shepherd.

No experience is wasted. In fact, God speaks to us through our experiences. If David could take care of the sheep as much as he did, he knew that God who is greater can do much more. I think that’s why he started the psalm with “The Lord is my Shepherd…”  

I remember some time ago, after a long day’s work and taking care of the family, I lay in bed at night, thinking of those things I was trusting God for and wondering if He hears me as I drifted off to a deep sleep. Later that night, I heard my son call me from the next room, he called just once and I heard him from a deep sleep. As I woke up sleepily to attend to him, I heard a voice tell me “Todun, if you can hear that from a deep sleep, I can hear you. Besides I do not sleep nor slumber”. God used that experience to speak to me and I know we all have examples of how God used an experience or circumstance to speak to us.

And David’s experience as a shepherd came in handy when he wanted to face Goliath, he laid down his past victories and he conquered Goliath through the help of God.

Psalm 23 is the prophecy of what was to come in John 10:1-21. Jesus himself said He is The Good Shepherd and the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Please read John 10: 1-21.

There is only one shepherd and one sheep.  Have you wondered why David was the only one tending to the sheep out of all his brothers? That illustration speaks for itself! Jesus is the only good Shepherd! And do you know that the plural of sheep is sheep! Friends, there is only one Sheep, one body of Christ and one Church under God! John 10: 16b says “There shall be one flock and one shepherd”.

Yours in the Walk…