I’ve been going to the office once a week for a couple of months now. It isn’t something I enjoy, but I think I have gotten use to it. Anyway, since social distancing is required, and we have more people than available desks, my job has chosen to do an interesting arrangement.

We are trying something called ”hoteling”. Basically, there are no assigned desks. Seating is at a first-come, first-served basis. We each have our own chairs. We come in in the morning, we grab our chairs and just hook our computers up wherever we want to sit that day.

I’ve been in the job for nearly 15 years. I sat at the same desk for more than 10 years. So when I come in on Wednesdays, I always sit in the same spot. It’s the desk I sat at before the pandemic. I am a creature of habit.

But the new employees have no such reservations. Every week, they sit in a different spot. They come, grab their chairs and wipe off whatever desk looks good to them today and get to work. Today they might sit on the north end near the window. Next week, it will be the south end by the aisle. They go wherever feels right that day.

In the Old Testament, that’s what the Holy Spirit was like. The spirit would come, rest upon a person or place, and then leave when time was up. The Lord would tabernacle or “hotel” with the people.

New Testament believers though, operate differently. We believe, that the Spirit of God lives within us. So that instead of following the Spirit from one place to another, that the Spirit resides in the sanctuary of our hearts. We believe God is wherever we go.

For people like me, who are creatures of comfort, this is a challenging idea. But we need to know that God is not confined to a particular place or space. It’s okay to move, to switch jobs, to sit in a different seat. You weren’t blessed because of a particular place. The place was blessed because you were there, and God is with you.

So if you’re considering making a change, know that goodness and mercy will follow you wherever you go.

P. S I’m still not switching seats!