I heard the Lord say, “You are coming off the rollercoaster of starts and stops. You will no longer stall out!”
The term stall is defined as, “to slow, come to a halt, to remain, to linger.”
Many of you in the last decade saw areas of breakthrough in your life and thought, It is finally here. My promise is finally being fulfilled. But, as suddenly as it started, it abruptly stopped. Your hopes were dashed, and left you disappointed and discouraged. It’s time to get your hopes up again!
“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which will be greatly rewarded” (Heb. 10:35).
The Lord recently showed me a vision of an archer with a bow and arrow. I saw the archer place his arrow next to the bow and release it. It sadly fell to the ground. It was not properly launched.
Then I looked again and saw the archer take his bow and load his arrow. I watched as he pulled back both his arrow and bowstring and release the arrow into the air. This time brought a very different finish.
I heard the Lord say, “Everyone is anxious to go forward, but unless they allow Me, the Master archer, to pull them back, they will fall to the ground like the first arrow you saw. I have pulled back many of My arrows, but this is the hour that I will release them to shoot forth.
“Arrows cannot be launched without one key factor: tension. Furthermore, the distance that the arrow travels depends on the might of the archer. I am the strong one. I use the resistance to cause My arrows to soar to the place I have targeted for them and they will not stall out. You have been hidden in my quiver for this time to launch forward and to soar.”
“He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden me and made me a select arrow; in His quiver He has hidden me” (Isa. 19:2).
Arrows are long-range weapons. They are known to travel hundreds of yards to hit their intended target. God has long-ranged and not just short-term plans for your life. God is moving in the midst of the pressure of your life.
Recognize that it is God who allows the resistance, knowing it is in the pullback that the success of the launch will be certain. This is the year that God is accelerating His promises to His children. There will be more accomplished in just one year than in the last 10 combined.
There are several examples of the pullback in the Bible, such as in the lives of Moses, Joseph, Samson and David. The one that stands out to me the most is Joseph. Joseph’s life could easily be summed up as a rollercoaster of starts and stops—favor was given, accompanied by promotion, then the persecution and lies came with the casting down to a lower state. Some of you, too, have experienced a similar situation? Have you taken one step forward and then three steps backward? If that is you, you are in good company. God is pulling you back, allowing tension, because His plan is to catapult you into your destiny. Your purpose requires speed for the long haul. You have been sharpened and have become a dangerous weapon in the Lord’s arsenal.
You must understand that you are not a victim of your circumstances, but rather the Lord has used your circumstances, pulling you back to launch you forward.
The book of Genesis recorded Joseph’s life. It described how Jacob, his father, loved him more than any of his brothers and gave him a coat of many colors, which indicated Jacob’s choice of passing the position of chief heir down to Joseph, instead of his elder brothers. His brothers were jealous and conspired to kill him.
Joseph was thrown into a pit, stripped of his coat and sold into slavery. I would call that an intense pullback. But God! The Lord used his brothers’ torturous actions against him to cause Joseph to be taken into Egypt, to the very place where his destiny would be fulfilled.
Joseph became the chief servant in Potiphar’s house. He rose to the top of all the servants. He enjoyed the benefits of working under Potiphar. However, Potiphar’s house was not his final destination. Potiphar’s wife then stripped his cloak off and cried that he tried to rape her. Once again, we see the pattern of the pullback. It came through lies and being stripped of his outer garment. Nonetheless, the resistance was just the pullback that was accelerating him to the place and position that God had ordained just for him.
You too, like Joseph, have faced great opposition. The tension has been almost unbearable, but the Lord would say to you today, “Hold on! Don’t give up now. This is your season! You are being launched in the hands of the strong archer to hit My target. You are right on schedule. I know that the pullback you have been experiencing has not been easy. It hurt to have ones lie and reject you. You thought you were being displaced and, indeed, I brought you out of one place to bring you forth into greater. I have not forgotten My promises to you.”
“So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa. 55:11).
This year, you will experience God’s promises being fulfilled in a more accelerated pace than ever before. Begin looking for the hand of God to crush your enemy and release blessings like you have never before experienced. You will be overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord. {eoa}
Andrew Towe is an emerging prophetic voice to this generation. Andrew preaches the Word of God with fire, inviting God’s manifested presence to fall, with signs and wonders occurring in his services. Andrew and his wife, Brooke, are the lead pastors of Ramp Church Chattanooga, and they reside in Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with their two children. Andrew travels extensively, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Wherever he ministers, lives are changed, faith is strengthened and expectation is ignited.