I think we all have an empty chair in our rooms. It may be used for gaming, studying, working, or when we put on our make ups. This chair has a lot of use. Jack of all trades. Sometimes this is what we use for our in-betweens like clothes that are too clean for our laundry and at the same time too dirty for our cabinets or things we just bought that are not yet fit for the storage or are still on their shopping bags.
Whenever a friend mine comes over, I will let them sit on it, and we’d talk for hours. And I wondered, what if I invite Jesus to sit with me and do pep talks too.
You know, most of the time we make regard of the Lord as someone who is up there. We often look at the sky or look far away when we speak to Him or when we pray.
One morning, while I was doing my quiet time, I was just staring at my empty chair and I thought, what if He is really in the room, not just as a wind but someone physically there. And so, my imagination was activated…
‘Cause why not? My God is omnipresent anyway. He might be even closer than the chair I was talking about.
And there He is. A formed human being. My closest Friend, sitting on my chair with hands on His chin, looking intently at me, even with His eyebrows curled in, while listening to every word my mouth speaks.
And so, I started to tell Him stories, self realizations, goals, dreams, prayers, and a lot more things.
I feel so intimate with my Savior. Sometimes He nods His head or even gives me a cheeky smile. “He understands me”, I thought to myself.
I kept quiet after my dramatic monologues, after pouring out my heart to Him and just stood silent. I asked Him, “So Jesus, what do you think? What can you say?” Just like how we would give our friends an opportunity to talk. And so, I listened.
After a while, He lead me to read His Word. He reminded me of certain verses that has been kept in my heart. And that, brothers and sisters, is how important that we read and memorize verses, not just so we could live by it, but this is how He actually speaks, that is why it is called His “Word” anyway.
I marveled at the words He said. He is so loving and gentle. He was sitting on my empty chair, a place for my in-betweens. He is very present.
I realized, I just had one of the greatest conversations of my life.
As it was said in Jeremiah 29:12-13;
“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
And in Psalm 91:1-2;
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Our closest Friend knows everything, even when we can’t find the words to say. But He also desires to listen as to how we would tell our stories from our own perspectives and emotions. He desires a relationship with us.
But we also have to be reminded of John 9:31;
“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”
First, we must repent. We are all sinners bound for death, who needs saving.
And our in-between? Jesus.
Second, we must be godly and be willing vessels to do the will of the Father.
So, just like how we would strike a conversation with our BFF’s or Best Buds, however you call it, know that we can do the same with Jesus.
He was never far
I encourage you to try it. After all, that chair in your room? It was never empty to begin with.
