When the Holy Spirit Guides Patient Care
Sometimes patients “shut down” and refuse to help themselves. Other times, it is the healthcare professional who “shuts down” the Holy Spirit when we refuse to obey His prompting. Isaiah 30:21 says: “…and your ears shall hear a Word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”
As Christian health care professionals, we are called to turn in the direction that the Spirit leads. Sometimes, this means “stopping in our tracks or going back into the exam room” as Dr. J., a pediatric physician at Beacon Christian Community Health Center recently shared. Dr. J. expressed how important it is for her to “listen to the prompting of the Holy Spirit” when she sees patients – especially teenagers. Children in this age range often experience loneliness and depression, and a lack of connectedness to their peers. Their emotions can lead to suicidal thoughts and desires, as they are overloaded with feelings of hopelessness.
“I heard the holy spirit, and I can say ‘No’ and move on…or accept what I heard and pause with the patient.”
During one hectic day, filled with a patient overload and an unusual shortage of health care staff, the schedule overlapped appointments so that they ran back-to-back nonstop. Dr. J’s natural inclination was to hurriedly move on to the next patient after completing a careful exam of the previous one. However, Dr. J “heard a Word” and the prompting of the Spirit told her to stop and ask “the question” of the teenage boy she had just physically examined.
“I heard it, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit,” Dr. J. explained, “and I can say ‘no’ and move on…or acceptwhat I heard and stop and pause with the patient.” Dr. J. approached the boy with concern and compassion, asking: “Do you ever have thoughts of killing yourself?” The patient admitted that he had taken too many OTC medications a few days earlier and was feeling anxious. This attempt on his own life, coupled with what he shared about his anger and what appeared to be a maladjusted social life, led the physician to call EMS to take him to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. Subsequently, the boy got into counseling which “hopefully prevented him from getting into something worse,” Dr. J. said, “I am glad I listened to the Holy Spirit’s prompting.”
Because our physician did not shut down the voice of the Lord, she was able to minister to the teenage patient in her care. Dr. J. shared that she prays “she will never lose sight that this is her ministry – not just her work; that she may always be aware of what Jesus is doing; that she will be aware of the needs of the patients; and will minister in the appropriate manner.”
Another “listening” opportunity arose when a nurse manager at Beacon found the “appropriate manner of ministering” was to stop in her own tracks when the Holy Spirit told her to pray for the mother of an already deceased teenager. Nurse V. recounted an ongoing patient relationship with the distraught mother who didn’t “know how to deal with the violent death of her teenage daughter.” Given the situation, this patient was often combative with the staff and “hard to reach.” During one visit, the woman was hysterical and appeared to be shutting down while sinking lower and lower into the chair. She felt so angry and bitter toward God and society for allowing the tragedy to happen. The pain of missing out on future milestones with her beloved teenage daughter was too much for her to bear.
On this particular day, the battle was so strong, Nurse V. asked Dr. David Kim to step in and pray with her and the patient. Dr. Kim prayed that the Lord “would open her heart to healing and that He would comfort her in her time of sorrow.” The woman seemed momentarily consoled enough to receive the prayer and support offered to her. Nurse V. said: “The Lord has shown me that patience and compassion are of the utmost importance when approaching angry, combative people. Each person needs to be addressed as an individual – we must consider their mental and spiritual needs as well as physical so that we can effectively minister to them.”
Life Application
Have you been prompted by the Holy Spirit to go this way or that, and yet, you went a different way? What were the results? Have you repented?
Do you consider a medical professional life to be your “ministry” or just a future career?
What does it mean to be a Christian health care professional with respect to being a good steward of time? Will you be willing to “stop in your tracks” and spend time with a hurting patient as the Spirit leads?