“This is a place of business, not a church. You can do what you want on your time, but while you are working for me, keep your God talk to yourself. If I hear one more peep from you about God or Jesus or any other church thing, you’ll be looking for a new job faster than you can say hallelujah. Do you understand?”

Betsy shrank under her boss’s angry tone. Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded, and Scott stormed away. She prayed silently. “Lord, what do I do now?” She was so sure God called her to this job. But why would God want her to work for a man who was so anti-Christian? She looked around. Surely other people heard the confrontation, but no one even glanced in her direction. They all sat at their desks, presumably hard at work. She’d never felt more alone. Still, if God had called her to this job, he must have a reason. She’d have to keep her mouth shut about God if she wanted to keep her job. At the beginning of the week, she’d been so excited about the possibilities here. Everyone seemed so nice, and her skill set could really make a difference. She sighed. She wouldn’t be making any close friends here, not if none of them were Christian.

A moment later, a figure stood outside her cube. “Betsy?”

Betsy looked up to find Shannon standing by her desk. Shannon was one of the women Betsy had clicked with early on. “Yes?”

I brought something I thought might be helpful to you as you get acclimated. Our copier is finicky, and there are a few tricks to getting it to do what you want. Here’s a list of some of the shortcuts for the scanning functions.”

“Thanks so much,” Betsy said, and took the paper. Shannon quickly returned to her desk only about 10 feet away. Betsy skimmed the paper and then looked at the handwritten note at the bottom of the page. Matt 5 11-12. Betsy blinked. That looked suspiciously like a Bible verse. It couldn’t be, could it? Shannon wouldn’t risk Scott’s wrath by sending her a Bible verse, would she? There was only one way to find out. After peering over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, she pulled out her phone and looked up the verse.

Matthew 5: 11-12

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Betsy’s heart thudded in her chest. That was no coincidence. Clearly Shannon had heard her getting chewed out by Scott and wanted to encourage her. Her mood lifted. She wasn’t alone. There must be 100 people in this office, and while most of them were probably of the same mindset as Scott, at least she wasn’t alone. She peeked over at Shannon and gasped when she threw her a wink. No, she was not alone.

Later that day, as she was trying out Shannon’s tricks to get the copier to scan, another of her coworkers, Frank, walked by.

“How are things going so far?” he asked.

“Pretty good, I guess,” Betsy said. “Shannon was nice enough to give me some tips for the scanner, so I think I at least have this figured out.”

“Shannon is a great lady,” Frank said. “There are a lot of people here like her.”

Betsy’s eyes widened. Frank couldn’t mean what she thought he meant, could he?

“I’m glad to hear there are a lot of great people here,” Betsy said, trying to dig deeper to see if Frank was trying to give her any inside information.

“Did you know you have to be 35 to be president?” Frank asked

Betsy blinked. “Yes…” Where was he going with this?

“There’s no minimum age to become a king. In fact, one king was only 19.” Frank turned and walked back to his desk, leaving Betsy more confused then ever. She walked back to her desk with his words echoing in her head. One king was only 19? After turning it around in her head for a minute, she nearly cried out. That was it!

She opened her Bible app again, this time to 1 Kings 19. The story of Elijah. That couldn’t be right. Still, she read through the chapter. Elijah was despairing of his life, for he had stood up for God, and because of it, his life was in danger. Betsy sat up a little straighter. Maybe this was relevant to her situation. She continued reading how Elijah complained to God that he was the only one left. Finally, one line jumped out at her. God told Elijah he had 7,000 people reserved in Israel who were still true to him. Elijah wasn’t alone, no matter how much he felt that way. She glanced over at Frank’s cube to find him grinning at her. He pointed to the sky, then gave her a thumbs up. He then pointed to the cube next to him. Mark gave her a thumbs up as well. Betsy looked back at Frank, who nodded. He pointed to several other cubicles surrounding Betsy. Not only was she not alone, she was surrounded by believers! She quickly bowed her head and thanked the Lord for bringing her to this place. From now on, she’d be praying (along with her new coworkers) for Scott’s soul. Another verse came to mind:

Matthew 10:32-33

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

She’d do her job to the best of her ability and would respect Scott’s authority, but she would never deny her Lord.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the encouragement of other believers. We may face trials and persecution for following you, Lord, but help us to remember we are never alone.