Episode Transcript
Acts 1:8 (NIV)
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
CONSIDER THIS
Today, our Holy Spirit story comes from Dr. Van B. Haywood of Martinez, Georgia. Dr. Haywood is a dentist as well as a professor of dentistry. You can learn more about him here. This is quite a unique Holy Spirit story, not like any we have received or shared before. I am delighted to share it with you all and appreciative of Van for sharing it. He tells a story of everyday faith in the trenches of real life. The story shows us how courageous obedience can be costly and also lead to surprising breakthroughs. Below, you will read the story in his words, and, if you listen, you will hear it in his own voice.
I was a faculty member at a prestigious dental school that had a great clinical focus but also strong research demands as well. To gain tenure and keep my job, I had to publish focused research papers and obtain grant money. There was a fixed amount of time in which this process must occur, or I would need to find another job.
I had been asked by a group of dentists in a remote area to come and speak about esthetic dentistry techniques which dentists use to create beautiful smiles. I discussed with my department chairman and others at the school their request to spend my research day flying there to teach. They quickly reminded me that if I did not continue with my research and publications, I would not be able to teach because I would not have a job!
However, every morning in my quiet time, as I read God's Word and prayed about the decisions I faced, I had the strong sense from God that I should use the day to go teach. Since God had called me into teaching, he certainly knew what was best for me. If it was his will that I do not get tenure or continue to have a job, then certainly he knew where he wanted me to go. With that insight and assurance, and against the recommendation of my chairman and colleagues, I accepted the teaching invitation.
After several travel delays, I was taken to the location of the course to give my presentation. As my hosts returned me to the airport, one dentist commented: "All the procedures you showed us to make smiles beautiful were very nice, but we don't do things that complicated here. We just make a mouthguard and bleach the patient's teeth whiter at night." Well, I was intrigued, but somewhat skeptical of this recommendation. I felt confident that there was nothing in the dental literature that even remotely resembled the technique he had described, and I seriously doubted it really worked! On the other hand, I had that special feeling that maybe this was what God was doing in this situation. The other dentists shared that they all had been using this treatment for several years with great success. They said they were not trained for publications or research and gave me their blessing to return to dental school and test the technique as they had described. If it worked, they encouraged me to publish it.
I felt certain God had sent me to that group for a reason, and I needed to continue to explore this technique. I shared the information with my colleague on the faculty, who was a very well-respected dentist in esthetic dentistry. The next week, a patient came requesting treatment for the discoloration of her teeth. After an examination, we offered the bleaching option. The patient agreed, and we proceeded to make a custom mouthguard and start the process. When she returned several weeks later, we were amazed and excited to see her whiter, natural-looking teeth! It was as close to a miracle as I have seen using a dental technique. Without having removed her God-given enamel or covered the tooth with a dental material, we had successfully improved her smile. Also, the cost was minimal compared to other options, plus she still had all the other options remaining if bleaching had not been successful.
My colleague and I wrote the first article in the world describing this technique. We called the technique “Nightguard Vital Bleaching” since the patient slept in the mouthguard with the peroxide material at night. The article was accepted for publication in an international dental journal in record time. This bleaching technique has proven to be the most cost-effective, dramatic, simple, and safe technique a dentist can offer to a patient to improve their smile. This technique is also described as dentist-prescribed, home-applied bleaching or tray bleaching with a 10-percent carbamide peroxide solution in a custom-fitted tray. An entire industry has been spawned on this technique.
The publication of the bleaching article came prior to the promotion and tenure deadline, so I had a major international publication to my credit. Shortly after the article's publication, I received a call from a company who made a similar product offering me an unrestricted grant to continue my research in bleaching, also before the tenure deadline. Thanks to God's miracle, the article, and the grant money, I received both my promotion and tenure. It was not by my works, but by the grace of God. Not through my wisdom, but through the guidance of and obedience to the Holy Spirit, and direction from God's Word, the Bible. It came through trusting and obeying God.
THE PRAYER
Father, thank you for the way you met a dentist in the morning as he opened your Word and invited your Spirit to speak to him. And thank you for the way you meet us in the morning as we open your Word and are filled by your Spirit. Thank you for the ways you guide us in our everyday decision-making and how you lead us down unexpected paths—filled both with risk and reward. And thank you for the ways you have led Dr. Haywood to help so many people in his path, even to this day. May this tribe of everyday witnesses for Jesus in the real world multiply and flourish. Praying in Jesus's name, amen.
THE JOURNAL PROMPTS
What do you notice about today's story and its telling? How are you inspired to seek out the will and ways of God in your everyday life? Are you facing a decision that requires courageous obedience and risk-taking? How might you inquire of the Lord as to his direction?
