The Yellow Chair
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
I love my dad. He is one of the best people I know and never fails to make me smile and laugh. One of my favorite stories he tells is when I was a little girl who was learning to sleep in her “big girl bed” by herself. My parents had done all the tricks that you do when trying to get a child to go to sleep, and not much was working. I was scared and having trouble sleeping, knowing that mom and dad would be far away in their own room while I was in here in the dark.
Then my dad decided he would sit with me until I fell asleep and move a little farther away every night. It worked! There was a chair outside of my bedroom that my dad made his go to, and this chair became the spot he would sit while I fell asleep. Always one to check in, I would call out, “Daddy, are you in the yellow chair?” and he would always respond, “Yes baby, I’m in the yellow chair.”
That story has always been so sweet to me, but it has become even more meaningful since I saw the connection it has to my relationship with God. I love God, but so often I can let my fear get the best of me. I get scared, and I can’t see Him, and it sends me into a spiral of fear and doubt. But in His abundant kindness, God has been showing me He has His own “yellow chair” for me.
Anytime I am afraid or overwhelmed, I can call out “Father God, are you in the yellow chair?” and He will gently remind me in my spirit, “Yes, my daughter, I am in the yellow chair.” God is a good father and He loves to care for us. Zephaniah 3:17 is one of those verses I have memorized that reminds me exactly that. God is with us, He saves us, He rejoices over us, He comforts us, and He sings his own song over each one of us. What a comfort! What a promise!
My prayer is that after reading this today that you would find your own “yellow chair,” a place where you can call out to God and trust that He’s there. In the chaos of our lives, He is with us and for us. The God of the universe is singing over you today!