“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3 ESV)
As a little girl, my favorite chair was my wooden rocking chair. When I sat down, I moved over as far as possible to leave some space beside me. I moved over so God would have enough room. I had been taught God is always with me, and in my childhood faith, I took this knowledge seriously and literally.
As an adult in the workplace, I strive to remember God is with me. When people ask you, "How can you take your faith to work?" it is easy to answer because God is always with us. We cannot help but take our faith to work as the Holy Spirit is in us: guiding, teaching, and comforting us.
Our role is to remember God is with us, and we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to deal with everything we need.
This week, we had a meeting with mall management to discuss our lease renewal. My husband (our business manager) and I prayed together about the upcoming meeting. We remembered to "move over" and give God the space only He deserves to direct and guide us before an important meeting. The results were even better than we expected.
As adults, are we moving over and letting God have room in our personal and work lives?
Are we regularly remembering He is with us?
Are we letting go of some of our impulses and allowing God to guide us?
Are we moving past disappointments and acknowledging God has a better plan for us?
Are we seeking His Word and allowing His love to flow through us to others?
We can do this if we acknowledge and remember His constant presence and give Him room in our hearts and lives. To know He is there as if He is sitting right beside us. Because He is.
We may pray to God about an issue, and the result is different than we expected or hoped for. However, when we remember to move over to allow room for God, the result will be the right one because it is in His Will.
I love the following story about the Empty Chair. You may have read this before, but I hope you enjoy re-reading it.
The Empty Chair: Inspirational Christian Story (Author Unknown)
A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit.
"I guess you were expecting me," he said.
"No, who are you?"
"I'm the new associate at your local church," the pastor replied. "When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up."
"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man. "Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the pastor shut the door.
"I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man. "But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head."
"I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, "until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, 'Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because He promised, 'I'll be with you always.' Then just speak to Him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now."
"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm."
The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church.
Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon.
"Did he seem to die in peace?" he asked.
"Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, in fact, beyond strange-kinda weird.
Apparently, just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed."
Prayer in Response:
Dear Heavenly Father: You have told me You will never leave me or forsake me. Thank You for this truth and the display of Your love. Help me always move over in my chair and give You lots of room. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Blessings as you walk out the truth that God is with you at work this week!
Bonny, Christian Women at Work
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