Psalm 42:9–10
“I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?”
Psalm 146:5, 7
“Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God …
… who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.”
Imagine a population in desperate need of medical care praying Psalm 42 to God: “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” Such was the situation for an entire population of women and girls at the turn of the 20th century in India. “Cultural and religious strictures prevented most women in the early 20th century from seeking medical care from male doctors.” What sort of frustration and despair arises in sick people when they can see the ones who hold the knowledge to heal their ailments yet are denied access because of their sex? What are the people of God called to do in such a situation? Psalm 146:7 offers the answer. We partner with God to “execute justice for the oppressed.”
And so, partnering with God to address this need, “the Presbyterian Church in the (U.S.A.) appointed a number of women doctors to the field.” God stirred in the heart of one such woman: Dr. Adelaide Woodard.
At age 40, she answered God’s call, leaving the comforts and innovation of her U.S. medical practice and moving to Fatehgarh, a densely populated area in Northern India. “When Dr. Woodard arrived in 1915, there was only a small dispensary and one trained nurse. In just five years, she oversaw the construction of Memorial Hospital and the start of formal nurses’ training.” She spent 10 years there, offering her life in service. She worked to fundraise and resource the new hospital, elevating the quality of medical care. It’s impossible to calculate the sum of lives and families touched by Dr. Woodard’s work.
Why did she do it? In her own words, “I realized Jesus loved me, Adelaide, who had known so little love in my life. I was filled with happiness and wanted to tell the story to the whole world. … I began my plan to become a missionary — to go where the need was the greatest and to tell of this love to others.” May we be sensitive to God’s call to execute justice for the oppressed.
Prayer:
O God, who is our rock, may our firmly planted feet give us courage to listen for and act upon your call to give food to those who are hungry, help those in need and execute justice for the oppressed. Give us strength to trust in your faithfulness, even when the world feels unsteady, and to live as people of hope.
Amen.
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