The Chair
By Shauna Leis
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
John 14:1-2
At work, we recently had a meeting with a very important customer. The meeting required weeks of advance preparation on many people’s part to ensure that the correct people were in attendance and that the correct message was going to be given. I was to attend and give a demonstration concerning some of our more advanced solutions that would greatly benefit the customer. I arrived at the meeting about 30 minutes early to ensure everything was set up. To my humility, there was no chair or nametag for me. The hostess setting up the meeting had not been informed that I would be in the meeting, only that I would be completing the demonstration. She quickly had to go back and move everything around to make a place for me at the table with a nametag and a chair. It was a very humbling experience!
As I was thinking about this situation, God led me to the verses of Scripture in John 14 above and quietly whispered into my soul, “Dear One, there will always be a chair for you at my table!” Oh, the joy that filled my heart to hear those words from Him. He cares so very much for me. And, not only does He have a chair in Heaven just waiting for me, He has a table and a room in a mansion built just for me.
Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Have you noticed that when you share a table with someone, especially when it includes food, you just automatically feel more intimate with him? And, have you also noticed that when you have to share a table with someone that you are not especially fond of, it makes it doubly difficult when it involves food? I think that is why Jesus used a table in so many of His parables, to remind us that being a part of His kingdom is indeed personal. God says that not only is He going to prepare us a place, He is going to do it in front of our enemies. Okay, I know that we are not supposed to want other people to feel bad, but does it not give you just a little sense of satisfaction that God is going to prepare a place for us in front of our enemies?
God knows us so well and understands that we have a deep need to feel special. He created us, remember? In Psalm 139:13-16, the psalmist says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” He even knows the number of hairs we have on our heads (and yes, He knows whether we have dyed them or not!).
So, how can we be assured that we do indeed have a chair at God’s table? In John 14:6, Jesus indicated, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Knowing Jesus and developing a very personal relationship with Him is the only way to guarantee your spot and your chair. He has a new name just waiting for you at that chair. Luke 22:29-30 says, “And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Jesus longs to sit with us at His table – to eat and drink with us for eternity. He beckons us to pull up our chair and get to know Him.
Pray with me: Dear God, we are so incredibly amazed at how much You love us. We cannot fathom the depths of Your compassion. You knew us before we were formed, and You know what makes us tick inside. You know that we long to be special, and You, as Creator, have made each of us unique for our own special purpose. Our hearts’ desire is to pull up a chair at Your table in Your mansion and get to know You more deeply and more intimately. Jesus came for just such a purpose so we would have access to You through His death and resurrection. He forever made a way to You! We love You so very much and pray all of this in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ! Amen!