Faith

*Update* This was written during my first year and is a reflection on faith and medical school. I know your class got a hammering this last test set. You are in my prayers, and I hope my simple thoughts on this matter are of a help to you.

I figured after approx. 2 years since posting the last blog, it was time to throw something up here.

As some of you may know, I recently started Medical School at Loma Lind University. After orientation, two weeks trotting around the hospital in a white coat that conveniently hid the fact that I knew nothing, and four weeks of lectures (65 hours sitting and scratching my head trying to figure out what in the world they were talking about) my class has made it to our first block of exams. I can feel the palpable tension in my classmates. There seems to be a collective feeling of unease. I would be remiss if I did not admit that I, too, feel nervous out this set of exams. Yah, I've studied hard. I've tried to be efficient and diligent and yet, there are still many, many little details in the ~500 pages of notes that we are expected to assimilate and learn. I simply do not possess the brain power to know absolutely everything in those notes. If any of my colleagues do, congratulations. I am sincerely happy for you. In the mean time, I'm glad it is Sabbath and that I don't have to worry about whether some tangential detail in PDX relating to a little line on someone's nail will be tested (it probably will, hence, that was the last thing I studied before sabbath!). Instead, I took some time this morning to listen to some great music (Sietze de Vries playing the Schnitger organ in Uithuizen, NL) and reflect on what God has done for me.

When Dr. Orr started speaking at our white coat service in August, I was prepared for another good speech that I probably wouldn't remember. Rarely do the speeches at ceremonies seem to actually stick. But, quite quickly, I realized the profound implications of what he was sharing. He spoke about how physicians enter into trust relationships with their patients. Since we have more power, more knowledge experience etc. we have the ethical responsibility to prove ourselves (collectively as a profession and also personally) as trustworthy to our society and patients. Medicine depends upon the physician-patient relationship. It's foundation is trust. What Dr. Orr did not delve into however is how this relates to our relationship with God.

If as doctors we must prove ourselves as trustworthy because we are in a relationship founded on trust, what about God? I think we would all agree that he has more power and knowledge than us lowly humans and the Gospel is full of invitations to know him and have a relationship with him. Thus, like physicians, God, to have that relationship must prove himself trustworthy. The foundation of the Gospel and Great Controversy is whether we can trust God with what he says.

So, my question to myself over the last few weeks as I've thought about this and to you, this morning, is  "Has God proven himself as trustworthy?" To answer this myself, I will highlight a few instances in my life where God has shown himself to be true to his word.

The summer of 2010 was a turning point spiritually for me. I sat down to study for the MCAT and on the first day I realized the impossibility of the task before me and started flipping through the Bible. Now, I certainly believed in God, but at the time I was a practical atheist. God's existence in my life at that point made very little difference. So, I opened my Bible and the first text I saw was Ps. 28:7. "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank him." Well, after studying all summer, taking the test and waiting for my score, God showed that he keeps his promises. Two years later, I'm still praising God for the help on that test and getting me into medical school. He proved, quite easily, that he will help when we trust and that he is a saving defense in our time of need.

A second instance where God proved himself to me was the following summer. My family has a cherry farm in British Columbia and it has always been a summer job for my brothers and I. During the 2011 crop year my dad put me in charge of the orchard as manager. I got back from school on a monday night and promptly worked till 3 am. That night set a pattern for the whole summer. NOTHING seemed to go right. We had equipment failure after failure. A pump mysteriously go out, too much rain, not enough sun, not enough pickers, the list of problems never seemed to stop. I reached the depths of discouragement one night while working with equipment that simply refused to work. The summer turned into a battle of prayer where every day and night I would go out to work and have prayer for my equipment. I would ask God to keep my sprayer working for "just one more night!". Eventually, we made it to harvest. Our cherries were ripe and it just kept on raining. For the record, rain damages cherries and makes them unmarketable. So, one afternoon, I see another set of thunderclouds coming straight towards our farm and I open my Bible and start looking for a promise. Here's what I found "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" Ps. 91:1-2. Yes, indeed, I watched as the clouds changed direction and not a single drop of rain touched our cherries. God had protected once again.

Ultimately, the most important thing we can trust God with is our salvation. The Bible is riddled with promises of God saving his people. The Gospel lays out a beautifully simple plan of how God has saved his people. It seems that most of us have learned to trust God when it comes to our salvation, but, few of us (myself included) have learned to really trust his promises to help us in daily living. So, going into test week, I have absolute certainty that God will help me. The two stories related above are only a few of the instances where God proved himself to me. But, it is enough for me to have absolute certainty that God is who he says he is and that his promises are are true. Now, he probably wont miraculously infuse my brain with every little piece of information I need to know for the test. And he may not give me honors and a super high board score. But, I have absolute certainty that what he gives will be enough.

So, I challenge you to look back and see how God has proved himself to you. Take comfort in those instances, and have faith that he will carry you through this week. And if you don't think God has ever shown himself to you, then open the book of Psalms. Read until you find a promise that is applicable to you (it won't take long if you are like me) and then put your finger on it and claim it as yours! Point it out to God that he promised to give strength or wisdom or or or... and move forward in faith that God will fulfill that promise. It may be in a way you don't expect, but, look for him to keep his word. It is the foundation of a life of hope and a Christian walk. And, it is the key to a life lived by faith without fear and worry.