Office Hours

T

he sign on my office door simply read J. Blake Carpenter, M-F 8:00– 5:00.  This information also appeared on our website and provided contact information for students in the event they needed to come see me for any reason.  The university required that I provide such information for students and that I made myself readily available during times when were not in class.  In addition, I also advised our language majors and minors so I saw a lot of people in the course of a semester.  The university did not dictate the times or the days for my office hours, it simply required me to have them.

During the course of a semester several of my students came by during the posted hours or made an appointment to see me.  Most of these meetings centered around a particular area of difficulty the student was encountering in class or revolved around questions about graduation, registration, or what courses should be taken next.  It usually took just a few minutes together to identify the problem, isolate the difficulty, and correct the student’s understanding so s/he could get on with his/her studies.

Some students liked to make an appointment, reserving a certain time slot so they knew they could see me.  At such a time, the student consulted his/her day planner, calendar, or smartphone and wrote himself/herself a note about the time and date of the meeting.  Just like clockwork, s/he showed up on time, we held our meeting, and all was right in the world!  Sometimes, students missed their appointments but I usually received a phone call, an e-mail, or an explanation as to why the appointment was missed.

Psalm 121:3-4 is all about appointments.  It may not seem so at first reading but if you take a closer look at these two verses, I believe you will understand that God makes Himself available to us at all times.  Much too often in the Christian life we want to make an appointment, juggling our personal schedules so we can grab just a few minutes here or there with our Heavenly Father.  We promise to get up earlier in order to spend more time with Him but invariable something happens and we find ourselves missing the appointment.  When this happens, feelings of guilt and embarrassment can creep into our lives making us feel uncomfortable because we didn’t keep our appointment with God.

Let’s take a look at this passage today and I think we will find words of great encouragement.  David’s words remind us that “He will not let your foot slip- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” To me, the most beautiful part of this passage is found in the last four words.  In essence, the posted sign for God’s office reads “Sunday-Sunday, 24 hours per day.  No appointment necessary!! I am here all the time!” 

What an uplifting source of strength, what an encouragement for me to drop my day planner.  The God who keeps Israel, the God who spins everything in orbit, and the God who holds everything together is available to talk to me any moment of the day or night.  He is never “out to lunch”, he is never too busy, and he is never tired or on vacation.  God is always in the office.  I can come to him anytime and he encourages me to do just that.  When was the last time you dropped by for an office visit with God?  This might be a good day to do just that.  I have no doubt you will find Hhm in the office, ready to meet with you today!  Drop that appointment book and knock on the door!