Sonrise Magazine

“Weight of Our Thoughts” watercolor by Amy J Heath

Since graduating from college, it has been my joyful prospect to rise and read the Bible every morning that I can.  I recall one memorable morning when, after having practiced medicine for more than 30 years, the Lord highlighted to me the following two verses:

And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.  I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD (Hosea 2:19-20 NASB).

The word “betroth” denotes a covenant of marriage.  God’s covenant promise to me was that He would betroth me to Him “in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy.”

As I recall, later on that same day in 2011 I received a letter at work stating that I was being sued by one of my patients.  He had had a less than 1 cm diameter flesh-colored growth on the sole of his foot that looked like a fairly typical plantar wart.  It was not dark in color.  I had treated it with cryotherapy (freezing) a few times, and it did not grow but seemed to be slowly responding.  I told him to come back in a month, but he waited 9 months to return.  Shortly thereafter I referred him to a podiatrist who then referred him to a dermatologist. The lesion was removed. It required three sets of pathologists to diagnose the lesion as a melanoma.  It was amelanotic, that is, without coloration.  That coupled with its location in a non-sun exposed area of the body made the extremely unusual incidence of this lesion about one in a million people.  He sued me for delay of diagnosis.

This was the only time in my more than 43 years’ service as a physician when I was sued.  It was an emotional ordeal for me.  By God’s grace He carried me through the ensuing year and a half litigation.

To me this promise of God given me from Hosea 2:19-20 connoted that He would see me through this legal attack on my reputation as a physician.

 By His faithful promise highlighted from the Bible to me at the outset of this lawsuit, God gave me peace. And as the lawsuit continued, God carried me through this valley with His ever-present peace.  I continued to see patients and work in the clinic and hospital.  Without His peace, as a physician I could not have done so. God’s Word is faithful.

 One sad but poignant fact was that my former patient’s attorney literally fell on his face, experiencing a painful fall, having tripped on the sidewalk, shortly after he sued me.  Thank God, the resulting nasal injury healed well. My insurance company representative was very kind and understanding and assigned me a very astute lawyer as defense counsel, and she served me well.  However, it was God who came through to vindicate me.

God vindicated my care of this patient who had had this very rare and difficult to diagnose disease. The last time I saw my former patient was in court, and he looked well.  I thank God for His care for the patient and for His carrying me through this trial. I was blessed to know the LORD better through it. God gave me a promise from His Word to hold on to, and God and His words carried me through that dark valley.

God’s Word is faithful. Call upon Him and He will walk with you through whatever trials you face in your life. Here’s a prayer to guide you in praying over your own situation to God.

“Father, thank You for caring about all things that concern me. You know what I’m facing. I can’t handle it on my own.  I give it all to You. I cast all my anxiety on You because You care for me. Will You give me a Scripture that I can use to fight this battle with faith in Your Word? Will You take this problem and resolve it in Your way?  I trust you. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.”

“Living Truth” watercolor by Ann Jackson