Do It Afraid!

A few years ago, my husband, Gary and I took a trip to New York. While there, Gary wanted me to see Niagara Falls. Having many walking trails, this was also a great place for our dog, Berea to get some exercise. There was only one obstacle; Berea is very uneasy around crowds of people and we had to pass through the busy visitors center in order to get to the trails! Knowing that she’d be fine after we made our way through the crowd, we headed out. Once we were inside, Berea was a bit resistant, so it was necessary to tug a bit more firmly on the leash than usual, but everything seemed to be going smooothly. Except… why was nearly all the visitors staring at me, whispering to one another and pointing my direction? Did I have food on my face? Was my shirt unbuttoned? Was toilet paper stuck to my shoe? What in the world were they looking at? I glanced back to check on Berea and found that she had all four legs sprawled-out and I was dragging her on her belly across the slick marble floor! Poor baby! With everything in her she wanted to be obedient, but this was so hard!

Has the Lord ever asked you to do something that you didn’t want to do?

Have you ever wanted to be obedient,

yet recognized that in doing so you would certainly suffer discomfort?

Have you ever resisted Him because you were afraid of the unknown?

I certainly have!

I’m reminded of when the Lord seemed to be directing me to leave my nursing career and to begin counseling women. I had worked very hard to achieve the status which I’d obtained in the nursing profession. Nursing was all I knew! Had I heard correctly?



At the time, I was managing a consulting business which I’d founded a number of years prior. I managed medical-legal cases from around the country, enjoyed the challenge and received a sizable income. Was I to let this all go? I concluded that surely the Lord didn’t intend for me to totally turn my back on it all and assumed that I should split my time between nursing and counseling. The counseling ministry grew quickly and before long I was faced with having to make a major decision. I knew the Lord was saying, “Bonnie, let go!” After completing the cases which I’d already committed to, I packed-up my entire medical-legal library, which was necessary for the work, and placed the boxes in a closet.



After a few months, the Lord spoke again very clearly, “You still aren’t trusting me.” Dumbfounded, I retorted, “What? What do you mean; I’m not trusting you? What more do you want!” “I expect you to trust Me and not a closet-full of books and your abilities. Get rid of them,” He insisted! I knew He was right. I’d kept my library in the event that “I might need to fall back on it someday.”



I will never forget the day that I loaded all of those boxes into my car, drove to the public library and donated my entire collection. Feeling as though my arms and legs were being ripped from my body, I cried all the way home! You see, my sense of worth and security was in my career and my Lord wanted me to come to recognize that I am worthy only because He says so and that my real security is in Him! He was stripping away yet another false god in my life!



Have you ever questioned your faith because you feared this or that? You know what?

I don’t think God expects us to not be afraid when we face the unknown.

Instead, I believe that He desires for us to “do it afraid.”

Just as I did with Berea, the Lord understands our fears and gently encourages us to press past them. Even if He has to drag us on our belly to the other side, when we see light at the end of the “visitors center” we are reminded… “He was with me all along and there was really nothing to fear!”



Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie



P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/. You may also contact me at:

Bonnie Jaeckle

In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

Diagonal Progress

505 Jefferson St.

Diagonal, IA 50845