May 6
1 Kings 2:1-9; 2 Samuel 23:1-7; 1 Kings 2:10-12; 1 Chronicles 29:26-30; Ps 4-6, 8-9, 11
The other day I had a busy day which included seven deliveries. Many were straightforward, some were not. When things do not go "normally", as I have gotten older and learned to lean on God more and myself less, calmness has replaced fear. One of my patients came in for induction, her baby had an unstable lie the past few weeks, which means the baby kept flipping between the correct position and the incorrect position (breech). This morning she arrived and the baby was not in the right position. So I gave her a little medication and turned the baby into the correct position, then I broke her water slowly so that the baby would remain in that position. Everything was going smoothly for around six hours at which time the fetal monitoring strip showed the baby was having some decelerations. When I examined the patient, the baby's entire arm had pushed itself in front of her head. I have had a hand before (called a compound presentation), but never an entire arm, and not at six centimeters of dilation. The young me would have felt the necessity to insert myself and force things quickly into the right position, in so doing, I would have increased the chance of damaging the baby's arm. I closed my eyes and prayed as I gently cradled her arm, and slowly made minor moves as I allowed the baby under God's guidance to pull her arm back, then I moved the baby's head over slightly. The parents kept asking as I was doing, but I continued with eyes closed and praying. An hour or two later she delivered vaginally a beautiful baby girl. This lovely young Orthodox Jewish couple were very forthcoming in their appreciation of everything, but it gave me the opportunity to deflect from myself and honor Him who is worthy of praise, God, Himself. Though we indeed have to move forward in faith and take those steps of faith, we then have to learn to get out of the way and let God work through us. It is more of God and less of us, if we are to be empty vessels that can be used by Him. As I get older, whether it be in the practice of medicine, or even writing these posts, I worry less about my own abilities, knowing that it is really always about Him and not me. He is faithful and worthy of our full trust.
Notice the words of David who had accomplished so much in his lifetime as a warrior, as a king, as a writer, etc., in 2 Samuel 23:1-2, "These are the last words of David: “David, the son of Jesse, speaks—David, the man who was raised up so high, David, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his words are upon my tongue." There lies the beauty of David. He did not speak of all that he did. learned, etc., he simply acknowledged that he was a willing vessel for the Spirit of the Lord. It is this child-like faith that enabled him to do what he did and write what he did. We read in Psalm 4:3,8, :You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him...In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." Notice his child-like expectation in Psalm 5:3, "Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." David saw himself rightly in comparison to Almighty God in 8:3-4, "When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?" Because of all of this David can say in Psalm 9:1-2, "I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. I will be filled with joy because of you. I will sing praises to your name, O Most High."
Notice the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:3-4, "Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." It is this child like faith that God uses. My pastor, Pastor Lloyd Pulley is a beautiful and humble preacher of God's word. It amazes me how week after week, month after month, year after year, he puts forth words that impact all of those in the congregation. I used to wonder how he came up with all of the material. Though he works tirelessly, doing his part, he is a vessel of God being used to reach the flock. The same holds true for all of us. It doesn't matter what our vocation might be, what our marital status is, what our age is, or what our position is, there is really one question, are you willing to get out of the way and allow God to use you? When my mother died, it was not the doctor, the nurses, the chaplain, or the priest who was used to plant that first seed for God in my heart, it was the housekeeper who lovingly approached this crying young man by the bedside. She was the vessel. May we all step out into our mission fields, and we all have a mission field, not in our strength, but in His strength, armed with the word of God and His power.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: