THE CHAIR

Today I sit in The Chair that I’ve dreaded for months. Thankfully the Father whispers to me and I eagerly lean into Him for His comforting presence, His wisdom and for a welcome distraction from all that lies ahead.

As we sit in The Chair gripping the arm rests, we usually ask ourselves;  “How did I end up here willingly?”  Our first step is trust. And in the beginning trust may be based on other’s opinions but eventually it rests on our own personal past experience. i.e. What have our previous interactions been like? Is this person towering over us trustworthy?

The second step is a willingness to submit to time in The Chair…to stay seated when everything in you wants to run away, but you trust this person to know what is needed, even if it hurts! And if you have confidence in him or her, then you must believe that they know what they’re doing. You must assume that they are for you and have only your best interests at heart. If you fully trust them…then you will stay and submit. This is especially true when you recognize that you simply cannot take care of your problem without them, so you remain…even when your heart yearns to run because your time in The Chair has been extended or painful.

Sometimes as you’re waiting, other people go by and from your vantage point in The Chair their life seems great and you long to run and join them…but the truth is almost everyone has their time in The Chair and for all you know, they too may be heading inside for their moment (or season) in The Chair and it could be more arduous than yours.

What is The Chair? It could be many things but this time in the natural it was the dentist chair for me and I have to admit my time in it was extended, nerve-wracking and somewhat painful. It’s not always that way, but this time it was. Honestly though, I wouldn’t trade it because it was in these moments where he had my undivided attention that Papa God whispered to my anxious heart. Come and join our conversation.

He whispered that similar to our dental experience, that there are broken or dying places in our lives and He longs for us to trust Him and to submit to His plans and paths to deal with those areas. This is true even when our paths seem blocked with obstacles or when the loss and disappointment over these damaged areas sap even our will to keep believing. But because we know Him, we must choose to believe that He is for us and that He fully knows what He’s doing in calling us to The Chair. We must have confidence that He has our very best interests in mind and He has a marvelous plan for our lives… the time in The Chair is to help us get ready for that wonderful plan and for all that His loving heart envisions for us! I know, maybe it isn’t marvelous quite yet…but He’s still working!

Dear one, do you find yourself in The Chair today? Maybe it’s a chair that He’s using to remove anger, selfishness or pride from your life. Perhaps He’s calling you to The Chair to strip away fear or unforgiveness.  Whatever the reason, I can’t say I’ve ever found my time in The Chair to be enjoyable, but if He’s made a divine appointment, then it’s always productive and eventually healing.

Now in the natural the dentist estimates how much you can bear and makes a way of escape (i.e. shots) then he waits until the shots have taken effect before moving to the actual task to be done. But infinitely better, our loving Creator knows exactly what we need to bear the removal of whatever is damaged or dying in our lives. God brings important things to lessen our pain…but we don’t always see it that way. We feel the prick of the needle and we start questioning Him…if only we understood that the prick was to avoid the far greater pain as He cuts away the decaying places within. It is His eternal kindness that brings the needle, the scalpel or even the dreaded drill. And He knows just how much we can bear…so He steps back and lets the prick do its best work and waits for us to be ready. Thankfully, He never leaves our side and He only removes what will actually bring harm to us.

There are many lessons we can learn from our time in The Chair. Here are seven.

1. You can say no. Our Father never forces anyone to The Chair. He knows that you need it and that if left untreated the issue will only grow and become more painful…but you must come willingly.

2. God can be wholeheartedly trusted with broken or fragile things! Since the beginning of time until this very moment, He has never, ever failed a single person and He’s not about to start with you!

3. He is incessantly for us and is continually working things out for our eventual good and wholeness (His actual reason for The Chair).

4. His love and care are NEVER interrupted by any time we spend in The Chair. Love and care are the DNA of what actually is taking place in The Chair even though we don‘t always recognize it at the moment.

5. Submitting to time in The Chair is an act of intimate love between us and our all-knowing Creator. He is NOT angry with you and His touch is as tender as is Godly possible while still removing what is broken.

6. In The Chair is a good time to ask “How did I end up here?” Listen carefully and then act accordingly. But you may ask; “IF He loves me, then why did I end up here?” Just like with a cavity, sometimes it’s something that we did or should’ve done but didn’t do (Read: floss, floss, floss lol) but other times we end up in The Chair because of something others have done or even when it’s no one else’s fault. Of course no matter who is to blame it still hurts to need broken places repaired or removed but sometimes we can avoid future (or follow-up) appointments in The Chair by following His plan (Read: Obedience).

7. He is never closer to us than when we are in The Chair. Just think how close the dentist gets to us to do his work…God is even closer, for His holy work is from within! So if He calls you to The Chair know that His heart is for you and His Hand brings healing and wholeness, even if it hurts some in the process. He works with His all-seeing eye on your past, present and future and “He who has begun a good work (in you) will complete until the very last day” before He calls you to Himself.

Sweet Blessings,

Sandy Anderson