A few years ago, I boarded a bus for a long journey.
As passengers entered, there was the usual rush for seats. People hurried. Some pushed. Others dragged bags across the aisle. Everyone wanted the best position.
Then I noticed something unusual.
One seat remained empty throughout the struggle.
Nobody sat there.
Not because it wasn't comfortable.
Not because it was damaged.
Not because it was hidden.
A small bag had been placed on it.
The owner was nowhere near. Yet everyone respected the reservation.
The seat remained occupied by something that wasn't even a person.
As I watched, God laid a question on my heart.
How many places in our lives are occupied by things that should not be there?
A grudge occupies the seat where peace should sit. Pride occupies the seat where humility should sit. Fear occupies the seat where faith should sit. Bitterness occupies the seat where love should sit. Past failures occupy the seat where new possibilities should sit.
And because those things have settled in, God-given opportunities pass by.
The tragedy is that many believers are praying for what they have no room to receive.
We ask God for peace while entertaining anxiety.
We ask God for direction while holding tightly to our own plans. We ask God for restoration while refusing to forgive. We ask God for increase while making excuses for laziness.
Sometimes the issue is not what God has withheld.
Sometimes the issue is what we refuse to remove. Isaiah declared:"Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." - Isaiah 40:3
Preparation always precedes manifestation.
Before God fills, He often asks us to empty.
Before He builds, He sometimes tears down.
Before He sends, He first makes room.
Many people want God's best while preserving every habit, attitude, and attachment that blocks it. It does not work that way.
You cannot reserve seats for bitterness and expect peace to sit beside it.
You cannot reserve seats for pride and expect grace to be comfortable there.
You cannot reserve seats for excuses and expect destiny to move forward.
The seat you refuse to surrender may be the very space God wants to occupy.
So before asking God for another blessing, ask yourself: What is sitting in the place that belongs to God?
Because sometimes the breakthrough is already available.
The seat is simply occupied.
Reflect on this, "many of us are waiting for God to move, while God is waiting for us to make room".
© 'Tunde Oyewole
🔥🔥
ReplyDelete