The Hand of the Lord - More Seeds of Hope

Today’s story seed is The Hand of the Lord From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah chapter 42, verse 6 I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; In school, he always got top marks on his report cards. Many years later he would be the top story in the newspaper. In primary school, reading came easy. Writing came easy. Math came easy. He seemed to remember everything he was taught. In high school, he found that not everything was easy, but he liked learning and he had a near-perfect grade-point average. He finished college in the next three years. Then it was on to medical school. His faith was important to him. He felt the hand of God was leading him, that he had been blessed with a strong intellect and knew right from wrong. He felt called to use his talents for the greater good. He became a heart surgeon. He was well liked and extremely competent in his profession. This doctor became a teacher and a mentor to many. He was promoted to a job that was part administration and part medical staff. That’s when he noticed it. There was something going on at the hospital that would change his life and end his career. It was about diagnosing certain illnesses that lead to profitable procedures and a systematic way of processing claims that lead to higher revenues. When he went to his superior and hinted at what he knew, he was told in no uncertain terms to mind his own business and to concentrate his efforts on saving lives. He tried to look away. He reasoned that this was just how the business side of health care sometimes worked. It wasn’t his job to try to fix the problem. That didn’t work. He woke up one night in a sweat, filled with anxiety. He felt he was being led to expose everything that he had witnessed. He resisted, and his discomfort rose. God would not leave him alone. He contacted the federal authorities and testified to what he had been witnessing. He was ostracized from the staff and went on permanent leave of duty. There were years of court battles. In the end, the hospital had to pay multimillion dollar fines. He was of an age that retirement made sense. There were people who clearly hated him. There were others who just as clearly loved and admired him. What mattered to him most, though, was that at night, he didn’t wake up in distress, trying to resist the pull of God’s hand. He woke up in the morning refreshed. Isn’t it a beautiful thought that the spirit of the Lord would be upon you? And how wonderful it is, as our scripture today says of God, “I have grasped you by the hand.” Off you go with God’s spirit upon you. Earlier this Lent, we were reminded of Jesus coming from his baptism with John. The Spirit of the Lord was with Jesus as he was led into the desert to be tempted. Wait a minute—aren’t good things supposed to happen to us when the spirit of the Lord is upon us? Yes, of course they are. But not all good things are easy. Before long, Jesus will be hanging on the cross. Is there something we are putting off, because we are afraid we don’t have the strength or courage to face it? This is the week to find where your courage and strength come from. Go ahead, take the hand of the Lord, let the spirit be upon you, and trust the path forward. It’s just what the doctor ordered. Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed… Where is God leading you today?