The Chair

I noticed the chair from a distance. It was rather worn from use. A friend asked me to sit in the chair but I politely declined because this was no ordinary chair. It was a special chair and I did not feel worthy to sit in it. Instead I found another seat at a small table and contented myself sitting there. I could not help but to look over at the special chair from time to time though. The chair was set apart, not like other chairs. I sat freely in other chairs in that room but I could not feel liberty to sit in that one chair.
Over the course of time I came back to that location where the chair remained. I often walked in the room where it was located and stared at it. Various people at different times encouraged me to sit in it but it never felt right to me. That specific chair carried a great weight of significance, dignity, honor, and responsibility; none of which I felt worthy of. Though I was intrigued by the chair I never sat in it.
I woke up yesterday morning and decided that was the day I was going to step out of my comfort zone and walk up to that chair and rest my body in it. Let me play the scene out for you. I walked into an interior room located next to the room with the chair and was immediately greeted by a friendly face. We talked and I actually stayed there for awhile sitting in another chair. Finally I announced my intenions to go sit in the special chair. I arose and walked into the next room reaching up to flip up the light switch. Once the light illuminated the room I saw the chair that had so long intrigued me but was off limits to me.
I walked somewhat nervously across the room but excited at the same time toward the chair. A flood of emotions went through my mind. I thought of others who had sat in that same chair. I thought of the significance of that moment as I strolled up next to the chair. I thought of everything that had transpired in my life to even bring me to that particular moment in time. Without any fanfare I simply sat down. What a moment that will forever be etched in my mind.
A precious lady named Marcie witnessed the whole event and commented that I looked like I belonged in that chair. You see, I am referring to the chair behind the desk in the pastor’s office at FBC Seminole. I did and do belong in that chair for I have followed God’s call on my life with reckless abandon. It is just an ordinary desk chair well worn on the arms from scraping up against the desk. It was not the chair itself that kept me from sitting in it but what the chair represented.
Jase tried to get me to sit in it when I preached the Disciple Now back in April but I refused. It was not my place. I was looking for a quiet place to pray and he ushered me to the pastor’s office. I chose to sit at the small conference table rather than at the desk. I reasoned that my chair back in the Paradise office was where I belonged.
After months of wrestling Brenda and I drove to Seminole for a formal interview. We were escorted through the church facilities and once again I saw that chair. Though I was tempted to see what the view was like from there I again refused. It was not right for me to recline in that chair even if it was only for a few moments. My chair was back in Paradise. You know the rest of the story. We prayed, Seminole pursued, God spoke, and we followed by faith.
This weekend I was once again at FBC Seminole this time to be voted on to be the new pastor of the church. It was a whirl wind weekend. On Sunday morning I was in the office after the men’s breakfast I spoke at. I was once again looking for a quiet place to pray and meditate and the suggestion was made to go into the pastor’s office but I again declined because I was not the pastor.
After the vote and an afternoon rest, I returned to the church early before the start of the evening service as the newly called pastor. I had every intention of walking into that new office and taking my seat in the chair I had never sat in before but it was not to be. I was met by the chairman of deacons and his wife and we struck up a conversation that lasted until only moments before the start of the evening service.
Yesterday morning I declared my intentions to go into the office for a few moments before we drove back to Paradise. When I finally sat in that chair it really sunk in that I was the pastor of that church. My whole life has changed. I rolled up the chair to the large desk after pulling out my lap top computer. My first official act as pastor seated in the chair was to write a blog entitled “Tour de Seminole.”
This morning I am seated in a different chair. A familiar chair. This is the same chair I sat in when we founded No Compromise Ministries back in 1998. I traveled all over the United States preaching revivals, retreats, youth camps, and rallies. I sat in this same chair to write the books Swimming in the Bathtub, Only Believe, Elijah’s Cry, and Life on the Altar. This is the same chair I sat in to study for sermons and plan the new church plant CentrePointe Community Church. Now this chair sits in my home in Paradise and will soon be transported to Seminole where I have written numerous blogs and continued to study for messages for the flock at Paradise. I will do that one more time.
There is a new chair beckoning me to come and pull aside from the distractions and busyness of this world to come and meet with God. There is a chair waiting for me to be very spot where I will meet with God in the secret place and pour out my soul for both the Seminole and Paradise communities. In that chair I will sit before the Lord seeking His direction for the church and for my life. In that hallowed chair I will write new blogs, books, and articles to minister to the hearts of people all over the world. In that chair I will crack open the sacred scriptures for my own personal devotions as well as to feed the flock at Seminole. In that sacred chair I will dream God’s dreams and by faith believe them to become reality.
To those of you reading this you may think I am a little off my rocker making such a big deal out of a chair. Please do not misunderstand what I am trying to say. On the surface that chair is just a well worn average office chair. My fascination is not so much with the physical chair as much as it is with what the chair represents. That chair represents my “secret place” to meet with God. [Matt 6:6] That alone makes that chair holy, consecrated, and sacred. If by chance you ever happen to see the chair or even a new chair in that same office, know what it means. That will be the place where the Lord meets with this pastor and transforms his mind and heart through the scriptures and divine encounters.
I will not sit in that chair again until next Monday, August 24th, 2009. I yearn to meet with the Lord in that secret place. Let me end this with a brief challenge. Where is your secret place? Do you have a chair? If not, why not make that a high priority and set aside a chair or a couch or any place that you designate, “This is where I meet with God.” Make meeting with Him your regular habit. Like the hymn says, “The joy we share as we tarry there none other has ever known.”