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Co-Working of the Divine and the Human
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The sick and suffering will have much more confidence in the
physician who they are confident loves and fears God. They rely
upon his words. They feel a sense of safety in the presence and
administration of that physician.
Knowing the Lord Jesus, it is the privilege of the Christian
practitioner by prayer to invite His presence in the sickroom. Before
performing a critical operation, let the physician ask for the aid of
the Great Physician. Let him assure the suffering one that God can
bring him safely through the ordeal, that in all times of distress He is
a sure refuge for those who trust in Him. The physician who cannot
do this loses case after case that otherwise might have been saved.
If he could speak words that would inspire faith in the sympathizing
Saviour, who feels every throb of anguish, and could present the
needs of the soul to Him in prayer, the crisis would oftener be safely
passed.
Only He who reads the heart can know with what trembling and
terror many patients consent to an operation under the surgeon’s
hand. They realize their peril. While they may have confidence in
the physician’s skill they know that it is not infallible. But as they
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see the physician bowed in prayer, asking help from God, they are
inspired with confidence. Gratitude and trust open the heart to the
healing power of God, the energies of the whole being are vitalized,
and the life forces triumph.
To the physician also the Saviour’s presence is an element of
strength. Often the responsibilities and possibilities of his work
bring dread upon the spirit. The feverishness of uncertainty and fear
would make the hand unskillful. But the assurance that the divine
Counselor is beside him, to guide and to sustain, imparts quietness
and courage. The touch of Christ upon the physician’s hand brings
vitality, restfulness, confidence, and power.
When the crisis is safely passed, and success is apparent, let a
few moments be spent with the patient in prayer. Give expression
to your thankfulness for the life that has been spared. As words of
gratitude flow from the patient to the physician, let the praise and
thanksgiving be directed to God. Tell the patient his life has been
spared because he was under the heavenly Physician’s protection.