The Dentist Chair

Saying yes to God seems simple enough, but oh what a hard task it can sometimes be.  Are YOU ready to say YES with me?!

Today's post is part of a Blog Hop from my online Bible study of What Happens When Women Say Yes to God. 

I didn’t hesitate when the invitation hit my inbox.  I was ready to say yes to God.  I couldn’t sign up fast enough for the online Bible study for one of my favorite authors, Lysa Terkurst’s What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.  I started reading the book immediately and found myself enthralled with each of Lysa’s words about the times she has fully relied on her faith and said YES to God.

Lysa refers throughout her book to radical obedience to God; completely 100% faithful, obedient, trusting in God.  This concept had me excited for the challenge.  What I didn’t know is exactly how I would start off saying YES to God, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be at the dentist.

I could think of so many things I would rather have been doing instead of sitting in a chair with a thousand and one instruments in my mouth.  At my last appointment a few weeks prior I had some trouble getting numb enough for my dentist to perform my filling procedure.  Maybe it was a mental block or maybe I’m just really sensitive on the left side of my mouth.  Whatever the case, I did everything I could from having to come back for the second filling.  But to no avail, there I sat.

As I was waiting on my dentist to come back in and start I could hear someone out in the hall talking.  He sounded young, and he was explaining to the dental hygienist how nervous he was.

“I think you’re going to have to put me out.  I just can’t do this.  Please tell him (the dentist) how nervous I am and to be very gentle with me.”  I could hear his voice shaking.

“Yes sir, I understand.  I will tell him,” the hygienist said trying to ease his mind.

 “No really, please tell him.  I don’t do well with this stuff.  I can’t take it,” he said.

I felt awful for him.  I didn’t know what he looked like or even what his name was, but I knew that he was scared and didn’t want to be there even more than I did.

As my procedure started, though I was nervous as well, I could just imagine him in the next room scared to death of what was going to happen to him in the next 30 minutes.  I imagined him wishing he were elsewhere, maybe on a beach with his friends somewhere.

I want you to pray for him.



Really Lord?  I’m in the middle of getting a filling.



Yes.

I don’t know him, Lord.

Pray for him.  He needs your prayers.



 Okay, I’ll pray {radical obedience here!}.

Then tell him that you prayed for him.



Woah Lord. What?   He’ll think I’m crazy.  He might get mad.  I don’t think I can.

Yes you can. 



There it was, my true radical obedience moment presented to me in the form of a dentist chair.  So I did it.  The whole time I was in the chair I prayed for the man next door to me; the one getting more anxious by the minute.

Some of you may be saying well, that’s nice but what’s the big deal?

The big deal is this:  the more I prayed for that man, the more radically obedient I was to God, the more I said YES…the less afraid I was.  At one point I actually felt relaxed while being drilled into oblivion.  The Lord blessed me with peace and comfort during my procedure,  but my part wasn’t over.

As I was leaving I noticed the door to his room was shut and I could hear the dental instruments going full force.  I couldn’t just barge in, but a dental hygienist was nearby.

“Ma’am, could you do me a favor?  I don’t know that man in there or what he’s having done, but will you tell him that I’ve been praying for him?”  I was really nervous to voice my prayer moment.



“You don’t know him at all?” she said.

“No, but I heard him earlier talking about how nervous he was and I just wanted to pray for him.  Will you tell him for me?” 



“That’s sweet.  I’ll be glad to,” she said with a smile.

I didn’t know that God would call me to say YES to Him in the dentist office that day.  The truth of the matter is that we don’t know when He is going to call us to say YES, but we know that He will call us.

I don’t know what happened after I walked out of the dentist office that afternoon.  I can only trust that I did what the Lord was asking me to do. That’s the other thing about saying YES to God.  We don’t always know the outcome of our radical obedience at the moment, but we do know that the Lord will find favor with us if we are obedient to Him.

So are you with me today friend?  Will you join me in saying YES to God?!