Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
I was challenged at Church tonight to tell of the great things My Lord has done for me in my life. When things don’t go your way in life, it is difficult to remember the good things. When you think God is holding out on you, you know He has promised great things but you aren’t yet seeing them. His timing, not mine - a constant mantra required to get through the hardships.
I grew up in a Christian environment. My Mum is a Christian and grew up as one, my Dad however is not. Despite this he actively encouraged me and my siblings to attend church with Mum every Sunday - I think it was more so he could get some alone time with his records blasting loudly and tinkering away at his Meccano without being bothered! However he was always interested in what we had done and learnt at Sunday school, I remember him actively asking and listening to us when we got home and sitting us on his knee to hear us whilst Mum made lunch.
My God story starts in a North Welsh field over summer when I was 15. I grew up knowing Jesus was my friend and because of Him I wanted to be good, although I wasn't always! And knew I would be go to heaven to be with Him when I died. God became much more that summer. I knew Him, I started my relationship with Him, for the first time I really listened to Him, and heard Him. This was my first ‘But God ‘moment.
My second ‘But God’ moment was when I interviewed for Birmingham Medical School. It felt so right. I was annoyed at first since Mum couldn’t drive me, I had to take the train with Dad. But when I got there, everything fitted. The interview was more like an informal chat and I had never felt so comfortable talking to strangers before. One of the Professors even chatted to me about Meccano for 10 minutes! I made some awesome lifelong friends, and found where I fitted in the world, after feeling very much an outsider at school. Different was now cool not dorky!
The strongest and best moment to date also initially felt like my worst. I was a few weeks from finishing my first year as a doctor. For some reason my supervisor had taken a dislike to me and felt I wasn’t good enough. She went to the deanery head and suggested I retook the year. Instead the Dean decided all I needed to do was some extra assessments. I was awaiting the phone call from him that told me either I had passed these extra assignments or I had to retake the year. I was walking on the way back from the pharmacy to the department when I stopped in front of the Hospital’s chapel. The Children’s hospital in Birmingham is a very old building and the chapel is beautiful. Here I cried. I prayed harder than I ever had before, I screamed at God (not out loud - much!) Why? I was convinced I was a good doctor, I couldn’t understand why my supervisor had taken against me, when all my previous supervisors that year in other departments had no problem with my work or attitude. SuddenIy heard God, out loud He said with absolute clarity: ‘Be Still and Know that I am God’, I was overcome with an absolute peace that surpasses all my understanding, even now, I can’t explain it. I went back to my department and got a page, still trembling I answered the call and it was the Dean: ‘We’re passing you for the year, you can go to Worcester for your second year, but you will be monitored more closely. We will send a letter to the head supervisor at your new hospital to let them know.’ God is good all the time. Not just this but He went one better, He gives us so much more than we ask. When I got to Worcester and plucked up the courage to talk to the head supervisor that I was the one she had the letter about she said: ‘What letter? I never got that, and just so you know I don’t see eye to eye with the Dean. And anyway, I like to make up my own mind about my junior doctors.’ 4 months later the same supervisor was trying to persuade me that I should do ED for a living. Looking back that was probably God again hinting I shouldn't do orthopaedics!
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honour him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
This was the Psalm God led me to in the only other time I have heard Him speak absolutely directly to me out loud. I was struggling in Malawi about life, and the promise I know God has for me (although it is still not realised). Again I heard ‘Be Still and Know’. I also ignored the out loud word to read Psalm 91 - I went to sleep crying instead! However the next morning I did decide to read it and WOW!! Was there a ‘But God’ moment or what? ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust….”Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I WILL ANSWER HIM”….’
These are my mountains that have been in my life so far, and I’m sure there will be many more. I have other ‘hills’ of God moments, although not quite as spectacular, they also lift me up. I have to remember them whilst I’m in the valleys, the mountains that have forged my faith. Mountains will come after the valleys along the path. There will be more of both.
Psalm 121
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
