Choosing Bold Obedience When It Doesn't Make Sense
By Quantrilla Ard
God's Brave Women - Quantrilla's Story
Brave didn’t happen over time for me, it happened in an instant.
The very moment I didn’t know if I’d be able to take the next step, bravery sauntered in, filled in the gap and gently urged me forward. One foot, then the other, until I found myself slowly but surely making progress through some of the most difficult days of my life.
It began like any other day except my sleep had been disturbed so much in the past two weeks, I was starting to consider melatonin or some other sleep aids. I was tired, a little moody, yet wondering what God wanted me to hear from Him.
I just started walking through an online bible study with a popular women’s ministry and the title of the book was Dangerous Prayers by Craig Groeschel. Nothing in me wanted to explore this concept in any way, but it was as if God was preparing me – giving me a head start of sorts to the fallout that was headed our way.
Within two weeks, my husband lost his job, we had big time problems with our tenant and rental home, and COVID-19 shut down our state. I was devastated. I grasped for God and gasped for air. It felt as if troubles were compounding and multiplying while everything we knew and loved and had worked so hard for was crumbling in heaps all around us.
We started praying those dangerous prayers.
What I didn’t know at the time was that God would ultimately ask us to do something that would require a level of trust and bravery I had not yet acquired. With each disappointing blow, God was giving me the mortar and bricks with which to build my faith. The more we prayed, the more we realized we needed to pray.
"With each disappointing blow, God was giving me the mortar and bricks with which to build my faith. The more we prayed, the more we realized we needed to pray."
By the time I received the call that my husband had been hired in Atlanta, GA, I felt deeply in my bones that I wasn’t courageous enough to do it. I couldn’t imagine how this would turn out successfully. However, when I realized that this crazy and unexpected move was going to happen, I had a “come-to-Jesus” moment. My fear took a back seat and brave took the wheel!
Now please understand me Sisters, though brave showed up and got me going, I still had some moments of doubt. Grief was a constant companion as I packed up the pieces of the life we had built together in Maryland for over a decade. But I knew Who was guiding us, and that reassurance was the Kleenex that dried many, many tears – from the oldest to the youngest.
"I knew Who was guiding us, and that reassurance was the Kleenex that dried many, many tears..."
It was learning to surrender our will and placing our complete dependence upon God that kept us from falling into the pits of despair.
The care with which God brought us from one place to another was a miracle. It still rings true in my head and heart that God is good, and He does good, even when it doesn’t feel good.
"The care with which God brought us from one place to another was a miracle. It still rings true in my head and heart that God is good, and He does good, even when it doesn’t feel good."
We could trace His design and good plan for us even when we didn’t have the whole journey in view. We could rejoice through the pain and brave the ignorant whispers about our speedy departure because we believed that God was sending us to a place of promise.
I realized that being brave encompassed more than just the act of obedience, it was an intentional walking out of faith, when it made sense and when it didn’t.
"I realized that being brave encompassed more than just the act of obedience, it was an intentional walking out of faith, when it made sense and when it didn’t."
I don’t know what brave thing(s) God is calling you to do or the places/relationships He is asking you to leave behind. Some could be experiencing both!
Here’s what I know with all my heart. God will equip you and enable you to go boldly where He leads.
"God will equip you and enable you to go boldly where He leads."
Brave looks different for all of us. It may be a gradual building up or an instantaneous event, but you can be sure that He will carry you through.
I am a living witness of this fact, and if He can do it for me, I am certain He will do the same for you.
Brave Woman Manifesto
Make sure to check back next week as another courageous Sister shares her story!
And by the way...
You are Brave!
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About Quantrilla
Quantrilla Ard, PhD, is a recent transplant to the Atlanta area along with her husband and three littles. A passionate creative at heart, she has answered the call to encourage women in all stages of life and of various backgrounds through empathy, transparency, and love. She is a faith-based personal and spiritual development writer, author, and speaker who believes in the power in collective strength, community and fellowship.
Quanny (as her friends call her), regularly records weekend audios and writes teachings for the First 5 app and has been a contributing study leader for Proverbs 31. She has also served as an intern with and Community Coordinator for Chrystal Evans Hurst. Her goal is and has always been to lead with compassion and walk alongside women in the difficulties of life, while illuminating the often hidden joys tucked within sorrow. She is an advocate for social justice with a specific focus on Black maternal/infant health and mortality. You will find her on her website www.thephdmamma.com and wherever people are sharing stories of triumph.
Feel free to follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And make sure to check out Quantrilla's story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: I'm Speaking Now: Black Women Share Their Truth in 101 Stories of Love, Courage and Hope.