Time Out for God Devotional Ministry
By Danna Appleby
The Empty Chair
This is the day the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Ps. 118:24
My husband and I purchased a dining room suite with eight chairs when our two children were in middle school, or what we called at the time, junior high. About the time we purchased our dining room suite, I began praying for our children to choose the right mates.
Our daughter eventually married and had two sons. Even though our son was the oldest, he remained single, but not because he wasn’t interested and looking.
Years went by and Patrick still dreamed of a wife to love and cherish, but never seeming to find the one to spend the rest of his life with. The way he looked at it, the right woman was out there somewhere, but where he did not know. With every Christmas dinner and every family meal in between, seven chairs were always occupied at the family table, but one lone chair sat vacant in its own place of solitude.
As I said, in my prayers for our children’s mates, I asked the Lord to set aside just the right companion for each of them. When Patrick’s seemed to be taking longer than I thought should be, I “turned up the volume” on my prayers. I didn’t waste any time in praying a very straightforward prayer. God already knew the need, but as you may already know, waits for us to invite His help.
When I think back on those days, I can remember Patrick and I having a heart-to-heart conversation. We have been close for years and it was easy for him to speak to me about his problems. Patrick poured his heart out and told me that in this society he was unable to find a woman that he could trust. He also said, “Mom, I could go to the swimming pool and get a girlfriend, but I’m not interested in just ‘any’ girl, but one with high morals and one who loves God.” Patrick wasn’t willing to settle for second best but one who desired to live for God and near to His heart.
My heart warmed knowing that that was exactly what his father and I wanted for him as well. I knew that God had heard my prayers over the years and wasn’t about to let us down. As always, I spoke words of encouragement to Patrick and let him know that God was there to work things out and that we must continue to trust Him.
God honors those who make a direct decision to trust Him for their every need no matter what that need may be. He promises blessings for those people. In fact, Psalm 84:11 says: “No good thing will He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” That’s a promise that if we’re walking “upright” as the Bible describes it, God will bestow good things on those people.
Patrick wasn’t willing to jeopardize the divine plan of God even though it was taking an extreme amount of patience on his part. He could have tried to “help God out” like Abraham’s wife did in Genesis 16, but decided instead to allow God’s plans to come to pass since God’s ways are best. He never wavered in trusting God to send just the right one.
Sometime after our mother and son conversation, Patrick rarely talked about the one thing he held sacred to his heart. He seemed to throw himself into his work and going on with life. Of course, his mother continued to pray for what she knew would make his life complete because she saw the loneliness in her son’s eyes. Mothers know these things.
Then a little over a year ago, Patrick met the love of his life. Once he and his bride-to-be made the decision to tie the knot, I figured the best thing would be to have a short engagement and get married. But once again, Patrick’s patience outweighed his mother’s impatience. The two of them prayed about their future together and decided it was God’s will to wait at least a year. Oh well, mothers can’t always be right.
So after years of sitting vacant, the lone chair is finally occupied at the dining room table with a sweetheart of a girl. A year of engagement went by very quickly and preparations were underway for a church wedding.
The day finally arrived and Patrick’s lovely bride walked the aisle of a beautiful church to meet her adoring groom at the altar. Our family was so happy to welcome God’s “Choice” for Patrick into our family. We truly believe she is a Gift to us from God and we greatly rejoice.
From a mother’s standpoint, I cannot give God enough praise for all He has done. Our table is now graced so well and the vacant chair can no longer be called “empty” because Patrick’s Beloved now occupies that chair.
We wish Patrick and Nettie all the best and wish them many, many happy years together.
Prayer: Father, thank You for hearing our cry for help and mercy so many times down through the years. You’ve heard us each time we’ve opened our lips in prayer and heard our praises and worship of You. I honor You Father. Thank You. I pray now for those who have been waiting on a promise to come to pass no matter what that promise concerns. I pray for strength for each of them. I pray for Your Word to be performed in their lives as they lean heavily upon the One who is indeed with them. You are never far off, but right there holding each hand. Help all of us Lord to trust you at all times knowing that you will help us in our times of need. In Jesus’ name. Amen. |
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