Christian Vocation: Barry Wu, Medical Doctor

[0:00] So good morning, and thank you all for getting up and getting here on time. I was excited when Greg invited me to participate in this Sunday school class, not only to share what the Lord is teaching me through my work, but more importantly to learn from you what the Lord is teaching you through your work.

[0:19] Greg gave us, those who are participating, some three instructions. First, that we're going to finish by 9.45 so we all can get to church on time.

[0:30] Second, to leave some time for questions. And third, to base our discussion on scripture. So I thought I'd give an outline of our time and really focus our time together on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians about so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

[1:00] Amen. So allow me to tell you how we're going to divide up our time together into three different sections. First, I'm going to share with you a little bit about my background and training and learning about the second commandment, that you shall have no other gods before me.

[1:21] Second, how the Lord has provided ways for me to integrate my faith into practice and the importance of praying, praying without ceasing.

[1:32] And finally, particularly important on passing on, as Paul wrote to those in the Philippians to encourage them, as my teachers have encouraged me, I hope to be encouraging the people I am involved with teaching in whatever you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.

[1:54] Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. So before beginning, allow me just to share a short prayer. So Lord, thank you for this day that you've made.

[2:05] We'll worship and glorify you in this day. Thank you for being the one who has knit each one of us in our mother's womb and know each one of our days before they come to being. So we thank you for this day and we say praise the name of Jesus.

[2:19] Amen. And pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts would be holy and acceptable to you, for you are our rock and redeemer. In Jesus' name. Amen.

[2:32] So in order to tell you about my work, I need to tell you a little bit about my background. So I'm of Chinese descent and my parents were born in China and my dad became a believer in China when his older brother was sick.

[2:49] And none of the Chinese doctors or herbal medicines could help them. But there were missionaries there. And the missionaries prayed. The house shook.

[3:00] And his brother was healed. So that's how my dad became a believer in China from missionaries who prayed. And my mom met my dad here stateside.

[3:12] I'm the middle of three children. And so grew up in a Christian home. But I would say it wasn't until I was in high school that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord, and it was when I was a junior in high school, that my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer.

[3:29] He was a non-smoker. He lived about eight months with lung cancer. And during that time, it was how he lived out his faith that really spoke volumes to me. He was more concerned with his wife and his three young children than himself.

[3:45] He would be praying for us. And then so when he died, I know his prayers were answered because my mom was not working at the time. And she had to raise three children just through high school and college and all that.

[3:58] So it was really the Lord who really sustained us during that time. Before he died, as any high school or young person would do, is they would ask their parent or a friend, you know, what, I don't know what I want to do, what kind of career I want to have, what kind of job to do.

[4:18] And so I know, I knew my dad was dying, so I wanted to get his advice before he died. And I said to him, well, you're a chemical engineer. So I was thinking about engineering school.

[4:30] You know, everyone talks about medicine, maybe medical school. Or maybe, you know, we go to church, so maybe going to divinity school. So, you know, engineering, medicine, divinity, I really don't know what I should do.

[4:43] And remember, as a high school student, you're doing those SATs and you're applying for college. You just don't know. And I remember him telling me, Barry, think about what your passion is, where your heart is.

[4:56] And so that when you're doing whatever vocation the Lord calls you to do, it's not a nine-to-five job. It's something that is a calling, that really, you know, it's your passion. So he died.

[5:08] I, of course, went to engineering school, to think about that. I majored in chemical engineering at RPI and then went to medical school. And went to the University of Rochester and then came to New Haven nearly 30 years ago for my training in residency in medicine.

[5:27] So as you know, in training in medicine, you do high school, then you do some undergraduate, then you do four years of medical school, then you do three or four years of more of residency.

[5:40] So it's a long journey of training. And during that training, you know, there have totally been bumps in the road.

[5:51] And it's really during those bumps the Lord really has been teaching me. And during medical school, I worked hard to get into medical school. You have to get a certain grade point average and you have to do whatever interviews.

[6:03] So I worked really focused getting into medical school. It was really hard to get into medical school. My first year in medical school, I came to a real crisis of self-doubt.

[6:18] I couldn't memorize all these things. It felt overwhelming. And it was during that time the Lord was telling me and asking me, you know, Barry, I know, you know, you've gotten to this point.

[6:31] Are you willing to give up being a doctor? Are you willing to give up medical school if I so called you? And until I could answer that question, and until I could answer that question, yes, I couldn't really continue on in medical school.

[6:49] So when I, in my mind and soul, really resolved that I could give that up, things got easier somehow. So I got, the Lord guided me through medical school.

[7:02] And then I came to New Haven from Rochester, New York to New Haven. And coming to New Haven, it was the first time, like Ben's just here about three months. I felt totally helpless.

[7:14] I had no friends. I had no church. I was in a job. I felt totally incompetent, you know, and I was clinically depressed.

[7:26] I was having suicidal thoughts during internship. I was swearing underneath my breath because I was so angry. I called my widowed mom in Rochester. She was so worried about me.

[7:38] She called psychiatrists in New Haven for me. But being a guy and being an Asian guy, I was too proud to call for help.

[7:50] So I know, speaking to you and standing before you, it was only God who carried me through that internship year. And things got better.

[8:00] I got involved in a local church. Many of you had been there before, West State New Life Evangelical Free Church. I got involved in Bible studies. And really, that community really helped support and sustain me, encouraged me.

[8:16] And it really taught me the importance of Christian community, to be able to uphold one another through joyful times as well as difficult times. And reading this book, Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller, really has been enlightening.

[8:33] And there's a section in there that they talk about Martin Lloyd-Jones. And I was interested in learning that his book is up there about the Sermon on the Mount, but learned that he was a physician.

[8:51] He was a physician first by the age of 26. By the age of 28, he was a pastor. He was a Protestant minister in Wales, England, and wrote these amazing reference books that we can use now.

[9:07] And he taught in one of the classes about what it is like. So you're born, you know, medicine can be so encompassing, engulfing you, that on your epitaph or on your tombstone, it could say, Born Barry, died a doctor.

[9:32] And really, is that how you want to live your life, to just be known by whatever this occupation that's just so temporary? And it's just a reminder to all of us that there are times he calls us to different things.

[9:48] And we're not identified. One of the things the Lord's teaching me is that you're not identified by your occupation or what you do. You're identified being a son or daughter of Jesus Christ.

[10:00] And so it's being a reminder of those things. And that's why I thought it was important for me to learn not to have idols, whether that's idols of an occupation, idols of doing well in an occupation, or pride, and have no idols.

[10:18] You shall have no other gods before me. So that's section one. I'll pause to see if you have any comments or questions before bringing up to section two.

[10:33] Yes? Did you mentally decide to become a doctor and have a residency program?

[10:45] I did. I mean, I did my medical school training, and then I did residency here in New Haven. What was your residency? In internal medicine. And did you like that? Not their first year.

[10:56] But, you know, God really helped carry me through, and, you know, I've enjoyed it since that time. I would say, though, honestly, I've enjoyed parts of it.

[11:11] So, you know, you have good days and bad days, as everyone does. Okay. So, in my training, though, I really didn't integrate my faith into practice.

[11:24] And so, moving on to this section section, really about integrating faith into your practice. It really wasn't until I was at New Life Evangelical Free Church that one of the former elders, Jack Knudsen, led a Bible study, similar to this one, about God's sightings.

[11:44] And basically looking for God in everyday things. Knowing that things don't happen by coincidence, but by his perfect will.

[11:55] I would say for myself, I would define myself prior to that Bible study as a Christian on Sunday and a doctor Monday through Saturday.

[12:07] So, I identify myself separate and in silos instead of really integrating what it is to be a believer that's a physician.

[12:17] Right. And so, that really helped open my eyes and think about ways to integrate faith into practice. And so, then thinking about in, even now in medical school, we're teaching students to really, when you're talking about what's wrong with you, I hurt my knee, what other medical problems do you have, what medicines, do you smoke, do you drink, any drugs, but also to get a spiritual history.

[12:47] Is faith important to you? Does it really influence your decision? What is your faith? And really kind of treating the patient as a whole instead of just their physical or the emotional depression.

[12:59] But their spiritual, assessing their spiritual needs. You can actually ask that question. You're asking. No. You can ask them, what is your faith? You know, is it, is, is, is, they use faith, they use religion, I use faith.

[13:14] Is, is important to you? And so, really getting to know, because, you know, when they do surveys, the majority of Americans have some sort of faith. And that their faith really does influence their decision making.

[13:27] How aggressive you want to be with certain treatments, what you want. So, really knowing the, the person is really important in taking care of that individual. So, I'm not just treating pneumonia.

[13:39] I'm treating Henry with pneumonia. So, that's a more recent. I would say, ever since my, since my residency training, this has been evolving.

[13:50] So, you know, I think it's great to be able to have secular world be more enlightened about the importance of spiritual needs. So, I think that's important.

[14:02] So, one of the earliest patients, you know, so I did my training. It wasn't until really after residency that I was in practice, taking care of patients, really integrating faith into practice.

[14:14] And so, I remember a patient, Rebecca, from South Carolina that I met 4th of July weekend. And she was from South Carolina, which is kind of remarkable.

[14:27] I'm talking about her today when all this flore and storm is. And that would be an example of like a God sighting. I don't think it's kind of a coincidence that's happening. So, this storm is happening in Florence.

[14:38] There was a storm in Rebecca's life. She was a custodial worker at Yale. She had 12 children, 28 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren.

[14:53] So, I remembered her because of her remarkable history. And she was from South Carolina, coming to New Haven on the 4th of July to visit her grandson, who lived up here.

[15:05] And she wasn't feeling well, no appetite, and came into the hospital. And in talking to her, she had some pain on her right side. And when you felt her, examined her, she had a mass on the right side around where her liver is.

[15:21] And then, finding out a little bit about her, I learned that she sang in the choir, was part of her mission board. And so, I asked her, after I talked to her and examined her, would it be okay to pray with you?

[15:38] And she said, yes. So, we pray, dear Lord, I know that Rebecca has to have this biopsy. Guide the doctor's hands. Pray for your protection over her.

[15:49] And we pray, your healing hand upon her, and that your will be done. So, she went through the biopsy. The biopsy was done without any complications.

[16:01] But two days later, it was found out that it was cancer. And that the cancer had spread all over. It was metastatic cancer. And given her age and her other medical history, there really wasn't much to do.

[16:15] So, this is the 4th of July weekend. And telling her that, she says, well, I don't know how much time I have, but what time I have, I'd rather spend with my family.

[16:26] So, we made arrangements to get her home to her son's home here in New Haven. And so, I thought, well, okay, well, that's great. So, that was on like a Friday.

[16:38] So, then the weekend came. And on the weekend, I start getting several calls from the visiting nurse. That Rebecca's having more pain. That she's having fever. That her urine output, the amount of pee she's making is less.

[16:54] And then, as a doctor, I start second-guessing myself. I said, well, maybe we discharged her too soon. Maybe we should have kept her in the hospital. And so, I had this dilemma of what to do.

[17:07] And kept on getting phone calls over the weekend. And I learned that she lives in a part of New Haven that's not the safest area in New Haven.

[17:17] The visiting nurses don't go there after hours. I've never really did a home visit before. And I had a nice, you know, Honda Civic, whose radio had already been stolen two times during my residency.

[17:32] I didn't really want it stolen a third time. But oftentimes, one hears a still, quiet voice. And just felt that I should go visit her.

[17:43] So, take my Honda Civic. Drive it to the unsafe part of New Haven. And walk in. And walk into this home. And I am greeted by her husband of 65 years.

[17:57] And he's there. He came up from South Carolina. Knew that she was not doing well. Rebecca was lying in bed in a room. And the visiting nurse, who I don't know, just came by.

[18:10] And so, we're just talking. And I notice a Bible in the room. And so, I said, oh, there's a Bible. There's a Bible here. Not knowing the visiting nurse's faith, I asked the husband, and Rebecca, would it be okay to pray?

[18:28] And he said, yes. So, we held hands and prayed. Pray, Lord, your comfort, your peace, your strength to the family.

[18:41] And I say, in Jesus' name, that the husband of 65 years goes, and Lord, I am satisfied. Thank you for being with us.

[18:52] Take her over the River Jordan to you, Jesus. So, we say amen. The visiting nurse says, thank you for that prayer.

[19:05] Again, I don't know what her faith background was. I go home. And two days later, we're in this, we have a medical school fellowship group called the Yale Health Professionals Christian Fellowship Group.

[19:17] And so, during this Bible study, we're singing that song, you know, be not afraid, I go before you always. Come, follow me. And I will give you rest.

[19:29] And after we sang that song, I get a page that Rebecca had gone over the River Jordan to be with Jesus. So, what did Jesus teach me during this time?

[19:42] The importance of prayer, the importance of finding out the faith, spiritual histories of patients and families, the importance of that he is in control.

[19:53] Remember, I, as a doctor, I want to be right. I want you to come to me because, you know, I'm credible. But I'm not God. And he has greater things beyond what we can imagine and do than what we think.

[20:12] So, the importance of trusting the Lord and not trusting ourselves. So, the importance of pray without ceasing, as Paul tells the church in Thessalonians.

[20:27] Pray without ceasing. So, I'll pause there and see if any questions or comments. Yes. Mary, is there ever a bit of time when you've said, would it be alright if I pray for you?

[20:43] And someone has said, no, I prefer you not to. Is there, can you talk a little bit about maybe those situations? Yes. How do you handle that? So, always, you're in a power thing. So, you don't want to take advantage of people and you want to respect their dignity.

[20:58] And so, always asking permission. And of the times I've asked people to pray with people, only one person said no. Of all these, almost 30 years. Only one person says, oh, then you just be gracious.

[21:11] Okay, that's fine. Just pray silently. You know, silently. Yes. So, I have a question. I'm in a job, and I imagine some of the people I've got a lot of opportunities that present themselves where I could, in a natural way, just say, hey, can I pray for you?

[21:27] So, I'm curious, like, for me, I think a lot more about praying for people just generally, like people that I've met, people that I've encountered. And I'm curious what your experience has been like with that, where you're praying for people that you're encountering, but not necessarily with them right now.

[21:44] Yeah, I mean, I think you pray, it says pray without ceasing. So, you know, whether it's out loud or silently, you could be praying all the time, whether the person's aware or not aware. But I would say, I would say probably more often than not, people want you to be, really appreciate if you do pray for them.

[22:04] And this book also points out a very interesting article. One of the big journals we have is called, medicine is called the New England Journal of Medicine.

[22:17] And this is an article published 14 years ago by Dr. Jerome Groupman. So we won't have enough. I have enough. I think I have enough.

[22:28] You have more? It says, God at the bedside is the title of this article. Jerome himself is of Jewish background.

[22:41] And he's writing about a dilemma he faced of a 71-year-old patient of his with metastatic cancer. He's Jewish.

[22:51] This woman believes in God. And every time she comes to see him, she says, God is good. Thank God. God is good. And then one day he is left with the dilemma.

[23:07] Dr. Groupman, will you pray for me? So what do you do in that situation? Well, I believe the Lord gave Dr. Groupman wisdom.

[23:27] He did what Jesus does often. When we ask Jesus a question, Jesus gives us a question. Right? He often taught by asking questions.

[23:39] So he said to his patient, Anna, what is the prayer you want? Can I pray for you?

[23:50] What's the prayer you want? And Anna's reply, pray for God to give my doctors wisdom. And with that, Dr. Groupman could say amen.

[24:04] So oftentimes, we think we know how to pray for someone. But oftentimes, it's good for them to share with you or, you know, what is it exactly you want to pray for?

[24:19] Right. And I would say in caring for patients as a whole, I wasn't going to mention this, but, is that a lot of, not all, but some physical, emotional illnesses are related to spiritual things going on.

[24:37] Unconfessed sin or need for reconciliation. That in medicine, we want to treat the underlying problem. We just don't want to treat the symptom. We want to treat the problem.

[24:49] So really kind of learning and seeing where the problem is sometimes is, is very important to know the patient as a whole. Yes?

[25:01] I think in the book, wasn't there a discussion that was about the medical patients with an elder, with a mentor of his, and I believe that the number was perhaps that only 30% of medical conditions are completely unrelated to spiritual or emotional issues.

[25:22] Yeah. Okay, that is correct. You're wondering if they did a survey nowadays what the numbers would be because from my human experience, you know, stress is to me even more now than ever before.

[25:36] And so, you know, where do we find our source of strength? Where do we find our source of peace? And where are the answers?

[25:48] And for me, the answers are in the creator of the world, of heaven and earth. And the answers are in the Lord. And I shared with some of you that we were fortunate this summer to go to a Christian camp in the Adirondacks called Camp of the Woods.

[26:08] And there, lost Solomon spoke. He's a Jewish believer. And he spoke about the importance of the Bible. And he talked about 2 Corinthians 3.16.

[26:21] All scripture is God-breathed, useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God will be thoroughly prepared for all good works.

[26:40] So where will we get to know how to do good works and where will we learn the knowledge to do those good works? It's not memorizing the New England Journal of Medicine.

[26:53] It's reading the Bible, the source of all truth. So pause there. Any questions or comments before we go to our third section?

[27:08] Yes? You spoke about being a Christian on Sundays and doctor Monday through Saturday. At what point did you stop thinking that way and say, well, I'm a Christian doctor or say, well, I'm a Christian and I'm a doctor?

[27:24] At what point did you? Yeah. So it was at a church service, a Sunday school service 20 plus years ago where I learned about God sightings, really learning how to integrate faith into practice.

[27:38] and I would say it's remarkable we're having this class. Similarly, it's kind of reminding and sharing ideas, we're all in different kind of fields and stuff, of how you live out your faith.

[27:51] And really, you know, we are, again, sons and daughters of the Lord Jesus Christ first before I'm a husband or a father or a doctor. Right?

[28:02] That's our number one identification. I was at a service in Cherrydale Baptist Church in Virginia once and I remember the pastor sharing again about a tombstone.

[28:15] He says, what's on a tombstone? Oftentimes, it's the year you were born and the year you died. And what's in between the year you're born and the year you died?

[28:30] A dash. So he said, make the most of your dash. So, make the most of your dash. So, I have a question on this section.

[28:44] So, recognizing that there are so many spiritual issues or broken relationships or so forth, is that something that's also part of your practice that as you're going to make your diagnosis praying for wisdom or insight that you'll be able to perceive things that might be relevant?

[29:04] Yeah, I mean, I battled that, actually, because, you know, we're so surrounded by secular culture and I'm surrounded by secular culture and I'm surrounded by, you know, knowledge and people who have photographic memories and up with the latest literature.

[29:19] So, you think, well, maybe I've got to, you know, spend more time there when the actual truth is you need, you can't have one or the other, actually.

[29:29] You kind of be, you need to be competent but you also need to know where that comes from. So, so finding the balance and I think it is, I do believe if we ask the Lord for wisdom, he'll give it to us.

[29:41] But I, like you point out, I think we need to be asking and whether I ask enough or I don't ask enough. And so, one of the things I was going to get to and I'll share now is that I think as, as we will all be patients at some time.

[29:59] So, some practical applications is that if your healthcare provider, whether that's a doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner, PA, or whatever, is taking care of you and they don't ask you about your faith background, you can tell them about your faith background and you can ask, please pray for me.

[30:20] And you could be the minister or missionary to that doctor or healthcare provider. would it be okay if I prayed for you? If the patient and patients have prayed for me, I am so encouraged.

[30:35] Right? So, you know, and if the doctor looks stressed, so I look stressed sometimes, doctor, don't worry. God is in control. Let me pray for you. So, you know, God is, kind of does things upside down.

[30:49] You might have gone, you thought, to get taken care of or get help when in fact God was sending you to help that person. Thank you. Yes?

[31:01] So, a few years ago, I heard Larry Poland, who was head of the Master Media. You might be familiar with that organization. They visit CEOs of media companies and actors and actresses and so on.

[31:17] And when they go in, that's what he asks them. Do you have a personal faith? And it's a very, it's not an upsetting question to people.

[31:29] You know, they stop and think about it. Right. And the other thing is how Francis Collins became a believer. A woman he was taking care of in the hospital asked him something like that.

[31:44] Yeah. Are you a believer? Or what are you trusting in when you die? Right. And praise God for that patient that asked him that because Francis Collins, if you know, he's the head of the Genome Project.

[31:56] So he's the head of researching all the genes, the former, maybe current, head of the NIH. Former head of the National Institute of Health. So praise God for that patient who asked that question to him.

[32:10] And oftentimes it's good when you're relating with patients or people, instead of telling them something, is asking them something, asking the question.

[32:23] So finally, integrating faith and teaching. So part of my particular profession is teaching. And I have learned so much from my teachers.

[32:38] And one of my teachers has been Dr. Jim Jekyll. He is the former professor professor in the School of Public Health. So two decades ago, he gave the commencement speech at Yale.

[32:56] So I was, you know, recently came to Yale. And here he is in a public forum with graduating students, families, people of all different faiths.

[33:08] And his talk was on scripture. He says, allow me to kind of share you some words. In Proverbs 29, 18, it says, where there is no vision, the people perish.

[33:23] And it's important to have kind of vision and goals as you move forward from here. But it was the first time I heard scripture being quoted in a public forum.

[33:37] And I think that was just a reminder of preaching the word in whichever field, sharing the word. My words will go away, but the Lord's words will last forever.

[33:51] So preaching the word in whatever field you are. I remember he now is battling his older age, battling some memory issues and stuff.

[34:03] But I'm thankful I know that the word of God is written on his heart. And so my knowledge of medicine is passing, but I pray and I pray for my six-year-old son that the word of God is written on his heart.

[34:20] More importantly than anything else, being an athlete or smart or whatever, is that the word of God be written on your heart. Another colleague of mine, Ernie Moritz, who has been chairman of medicine at the Hospital of St.

[34:37] Rayfield three times, really distinguished. He's a man of faith himself. His father was a pastor. And I remember we in medicine train a lot of people.

[34:48] So oftentimes after medical school you did this thing called residency. And at the Hospital of St. Rayfield we got residents from all over the world, Africa, Asia, South America, all over, with different faiths.

[35:03] And at the end of the year we have a celebration, an end of the year party. And I always remember him at the end of the year party as we are gathered before the meal. Dr. Moritz will come up and says, well, thank you all for being here.

[35:16] I know we have many different faiths represented in this room, but allow me to share a Christian prayer. And then he says grace for the meal.

[35:29] And again, it's just another opportunity of witnessing, not being generic, you know, God, general God, but God, Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, we pray to you.

[35:45] So it's good that he's clear who he is and who he's praying to. And then you think about ways, you know, I learned from them of ways to integrate into my teaching.

[35:58] So I often say, you know, I forgot, God created the world in how many days? Six days. What did he do on the seventh? Rested, he's seventh.

[36:09] So God created the world in the sixth day and rest on the seventh. So let me go over with you now the seven steps of reading EKGs. So kind of weave it in.

[36:23] Right? Dr. Jekyll would say, you know, which is the first published cohort study? Where in the literature is the first published cohort study?

[36:37] So it's in the Bible, in Daniel, with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, when the king says that they don't want to eat the food, right?

[36:47] And they'll be fine, and the other group did eat the food, so that's a cohort study. And the first published cohort study is in the Bible. And again, weaving it into your, you know, being very creative of ways to kind of weave it in.

[37:03] And so, we have six minutes left. So in teaching, I told you about this medical fellowship group, Yale Health Professional Christian Fellowship Group, which has been around now, I think, over a quarter century.

[37:19] And it began before here, a church in North Haven was praying for a fellowship group to begin. And that answer to prayer has been this group that's been meeting over a quarter century on campus.

[37:31] So they have Bible studies and, you know, teach people how to integrate faith into practice. And one of the students that came to the group one day, her name was Allison.

[37:44] And Allison is a third year Yale medical student. And she, after, during your training, you have to do these things called clerkships. You go first time taking care of patients.

[37:56] So it's a really stressful time. And she heard about scripture, she heard about praying, but hadn't really practiced that. And one of her first patients was Larry.

[38:07] Larry was at the VA hospital. He was 45 years old. He was a nuclear submarine tech. And he couldn't do the designated one-mile run in the designated time.

[38:18] He was more tired than normal. He came in, he found to have a really high white blood cell count, was diagnosed with leukemia. And so she is talking to him for the first time, you know, tell me about yourself, and, you know, what's your faith, and gets the history of the patient.

[38:36] And before it ends, she says, may I pray for you? And Larry says, yes. So she prays for her. Larry, pray your help, help the doctors, grant them wisdom, amen.

[38:49] After she says amen, Larry starts praying for her. Help Allison, this rotation is very hard, help her. And she begins.

[39:01] So the next day, we go to the VA, we're walking around, and Larry comes up to me and gives me a big hug. Thank you so much for sending Allison. And on his own, he says, you know, I feel like I'm in Daniel, you know, in Daniel, you know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Lydagel were in the fiery furnace, but they would not bow down to any god.

[39:23] And I feel like I'm in the fiery furnace, but I do not fear, because I know the Lord is in control. so in summary, so whether you eat, drink, whatever you do, doctor, worker, educator, do it all for the glory of God.

[39:49] Remember, don't make the job itself an idol. Remember the importance of praying, and remember it's a passing down.

[40:00] We're here on this journey, a temporary time, but really to pass what you have been given, how much we've been given. You know, Richard Gilardi at West Haven always said, you know, how are you doing, Richard?

[40:14] He would always say, I'm doing better than I deserve to. And, you know, I am doing better than I deserve to. And it's only by God's grace and mercy.

[40:30] Any questions or comments? So, allow me to pray.

[40:43] So, Almighty and Eternal Father, draw our hearts to you, guide our minds, fill our imagination, control our will, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you, and then use us as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people, through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[41:15] Amen. Amen. One more thing before we finish. At the end of each class, we want to pray for the person who's teaching and for the people who are working in their field.

[41:27] So, if I could ask John to pray for Barry and for anyone else here who's working in the medical field in one way or another.

[41:41] Father, we thank you so much that you have called a people to yourself and that you have poured out the blessings of your gospel upon them and you have called us to image you wherever we go and also to bear witness to you.

[42:03] We thank you for Barry, how you have placed him in this critical place and I pray that you would continue to manifest yourself to him such that he would recognize each day that you were the pearl of great price and that he would order his days around you.

[42:21] I pray that you would continue to make his time in your word so sweet and in it he would behold great and mighty things that would be of immense use to him as he seeks to serve and love in your name and diagnose and treat patients.

[42:37] We thank you for the courage and the love that you have given him to press on even in contexts that might seem a little tense or challenging but that love breaks through and taking initiative to pray with patients for them, with them and to receive their prayers too.

[42:56] So I pray that he would just go on from strength to strength and others here in the medical field, we pray that that would become a platform in which they might be able to manifest your name and they might be able to bring your healing care to a hurting and lost world.

[43:14] So we thank you for the encouragement of these reflections and may you continue to be with us this day. We ask these things in Jesus' name.

[43:25] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.