Holy Spirit whispered something to me this morning that I would have missed if I hadn’t slowed down.
The devotional read:
“Remain a flexible pawn piece in My chess game. I will move you in directions that will make no logical sense to you.”
Now, I don’t play chess.
But I respect it.
Chess is not reactionary.
It is architectural.
Strategic.
Layered.
It is a game where the visible move is rarely the real move.
And as I sat with those words—flexible pawn piece—I realized this was not a demotion.
It was revelation.
Because the Lord hides treasures in patterns for those who linger long enough to see them.
And as I lingered, something else surfaced.
There is a story—one that has circulated for years—about a class visiting the Louvre. In the gallery hangs a painting of a chess match between a man and the devil. The board looks dire. The devil appears triumphant. The man’s face looks defeated. The title implies the end is near.
Everyone assumes the game is over.
Until one of the students—who happens to be a master chess player—steps closer.
He studies the board carefully.
He doesn’t glance.
He examines.
He scans the positioning.
He traces the diagonals.
He evaluates the squares.
And then he says something that shifts the room:
“The game isn’t over. The king still has one more move.”
That story hit me differently this morning.
Because that is how life often feels.
It looks like the opponent has advanced.
It looks like you’re cornered.
It looks like the board is closing in.
And everyone around you might assume defeat.
But the Master sees something you don’t.
There is still one move left.
And that one move changes everything.
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The Chessboard: What You See vs. What He Sees
A chessboard has 64 squares.
Black and white.
Light and dark.
Opposition and tension.
It looks simple.
But the strategy is anything but.
Two players.
One objective.
A battle of foresight.
The amateur plays the move in front of them.
The master plays three, five, ten moves ahead.
And here is what stunned me:
The pawn is the smallest piece on the board.
Limited movement.
Seemingly expendable.
Often sacrificed.
But what most people don’t realize is this:
The pawn is the only piece that can be promoted.
If it makes it to the other side of the board, it can become a queen.
The weakest piece becomes the most powerful one.
That alone should preach.
Because heaven’s economy has always worked that way.
The stone the builders rejected becomes the cornerstone.
The stump becomes the Branch.
The cross becomes the throne.
The pawn becomes the queen.
And suddenly, the Louvre story makes sense.
What looks like checkmate is sometimes just positioning.
What looks like loss may simply be the square before promotion.
What looks like the devil winning may just be the moment before the King makes His move.
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Why Flexibility Matters
The devotional said:
“Remain a flexible pawn piece.”
Not stubborn.
Not rigid.
Not demanding explanation.
Flexible.
Because pawns move forward.
One square at a time.
Occasionally two.
Sometimes diagonally when confronting opposition.
They cannot move backward.
Which means every move is progression.
Even when it looks small.
And that’s when Holy Spirit whispered:
You think I’m moving you randomly.
But I see the entire board.
The opponent makes moves you didn’t anticipate.
Circumstances shift.
People reposition.
Doors close.
But the Master sees all of it.
And then I heard the echo of Scripture:
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.”
—Isaiah 55:8–9
Higher perspective.
Full board vision.
Then immediately:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.”
—Proverbs 3:5–6
Do not lean on your own understanding.
Because a pawn cannot see the opponent’s strategy.
But the King can.
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The King Never Moves Recklessly
In chess, the king is the most protected piece.
Everything revolves around him.
He doesn’t move often.
But when he does, it changes everything.
And in the Kingdom?
We are not the king.
We are not even the queen.
We are pieces moved by the King.
And the devotional said:
“No, My child. I already see the next move that will be played in this match, and I have indeed moved you to the correct location.”
That line pierced me.
Because how often do we question our square?
Why am I here?
Why this season?
Why this detour?
Why this silence?
Why this delay?
And yet the King says:
You are exactly where you need to be.
Because sometimes you are not placed for immediate impact.
You are placed for future positioning.
And positioning matters more than prominence.
Just like in that painting.
The untrained eye sees defeat.
The master sees potential.
The untrained eye sees checkmate.
The master sees one more move.
And how often throughout Scripture does God ask:
“Tell Me what you see?”
He asked Jeremiah.
He asked Ezekiel.
Not because He didn’t know.
But because perception determines faith.
He trains us to see.
He trains us to slow down.
He trains us to study the board instead of reacting to the moment.
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The Code Hidden Within the Code
Chess is not chaotic.
It is layered intention.
The opening move is rarely about that move.
It is about access.
Control of the center.
Future pathways.
And suddenly I saw it:
When the Lord moves you in ways that make no logical sense, He is controlling territory you don’t yet see.
He is baiting opposition.
He is protecting future advancement.
He is setting up promotion.
And we panic because we only see the square beneath our feet.
But the King sees ten moves ahead.
That’s why He can say:
I have had a specific plan for your life before the foundation of creation.
Before the board was even set.
Before the opponent took position.
Before the first move.
You were already accounted for.
Already positioned in the strategy.
Already written into the victory.
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You Will Be Amazed at the Detail
Here’s the part that humbles me:
The Master does not improvise.
He anticipates.
Every square you stand on was foreseen.
Every intersection was mapped.
Every confrontation was calculated.
Nothing catches Him off guard.
When the devotional said:
“You will be amazed at how detailed My plan for you really is.”
I believed it differently.
Because detail means precision.
And precision means intentional placement.
Not random.
Not chaotic.
Not overlooked.
Placed.
And here is the unexpected revelation:
The pawn does not need to understand the move.
It only needs to trust the hand that moves it.
Flexibility is faith.
Yielding is strategy.
Obedience is positioning.
And promotion is often hidden inside what looks like restriction.
And sometimes, what looks like defeat is simply the move before deliverance.
Sometimes the King allows the board to look dire so that when He moves, no one questions who won.
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What This Means for Us
If you feel moved somewhere that doesn’t make sense…
If you feel placed in a square that feels small…
If you feel like the least powerful piece on the board…
Remember:
The pawn is the only piece with promotion written into its path.
The move that feels insignificant may be securing the center.
The placement that feels hidden may be protecting the King’s larger strategy.
The detour may be bait for a future victory.
And if you slow down long enough to listen, you will hear it:
He is not reacting to the match.
He has already accounted for every move.
Remain flexible.
Trust the hand.
Stand where you are placed.
Study the board, not in fear—but in faith.
Because when you reach the other side of the board, you will realize—
You were never small.
You were never cornered.
You were never forgotten.
You were strategic.
And the King always had one more move.
———
I Hear the Spirit Say
“My child, you keep studying the square beneath your feet, and I keep watching the entire board.
You feel exposed when I move you.
You feel uncertain when I reposition you.
You feel vulnerable when you are advanced forward.
But I do not move pieces carelessly.
I am not reacting to the enemy.
I am orchestrating the outcome.
You see a pawn.
I see promotion.
You see restriction.
I see trajectory.
You see a square that feels small.
I see a corridor that leads to authority.
Do not confuse limitation with insignificance. The pawn’s movement may seem constrained, but it is precise. It advances territory. It protects what you cannot yet see. It sets up moves you do not yet understand.
And when the board looks overwhelming—when it appears that opposition has surrounded you—remember the story.
There is always one more move.
The enemy calculates based on what he can see.
I calculate based on what I have already written.
You think the match is tightening.
I know the moment of reversal.
So remain flexible.
Do not harden when I shift you.
Do not resist when I advance you.
Do not question when I reposition you.
Your obedience is not weakness.
It is strategy.
You are not the King.
But you belong to the King.
And the King does not lose.
Trust the hand that moves you.
Trust the square you stand on.
Trust the unseen strategy unfolding.
Because what feels like pressure is positioning.
What feels like delay is development.
What feels like vulnerability is advancement.
And when the time is right,
when you reach the place I have ordained,
what looked like a pawn will stand in power.
I always have one more move.
And I have already seen the end.”
———
Final Thought — Stop Playing Checkers in a Chess War
Here is the truth that will either ignite you or confront you:
You have been reacting like someone playing checkers
in a game that has always been chess.
Checkers is simple. Immediate. Reaction-based.
Chess is layered. Strategic. Multi-dimensional.
And heaven has never operated on checkers logic.
If you only judge your life by what you can see in front of you, you will misinterpret every hard move as punishment, every delay as rejection, every repositioning as loss.
But what if the very move you resisted is the one securing your promotion?
What if the square that feels small is actually controlling the center of the board?
What if the pressure you feel isn’t attack—it’s advancement?
Because here is the explosive reality:
The enemy only pressures pieces that matter.
No one targets an irrelevant square.
And if the board looks tight…
if it looks like you’re surrounded…
if it looks like the opponent has momentum…
Lean in.
Study the board.
Because there is always one more move.
And it belongs to the King.
The King does not panic when the board tightens.
The King does not scramble when tension rises.
The King calculates, anticipates, orchestrates.
And if He moved you there, it is not to lose you.
It is to use you.
So stop shrinking because you feel like a pawn.
Stop doubting because the square feels small.
Stop questioning because the move didn’t make sense.
You are not stuck.
You are positioned.
You are not overlooked.
You are being advanced.
You are not exposed.
You are strategic.
And when the King makes His move—
when what looked like confinement becomes coronation—
you will understand why He told you to remain flexible.
Because promotion is never random.
It is earned through obedience.
And obedience is what allows a pawn
to become something far more powerful than anyone expected.
The match is not over.
The King still has one more move.
And if you are still on the board—
He is not finished with you.
