A Hymn for Waiting for Medical Test Results

Wednesday night prayer meeting is the heartbeat of our local church family.

We praise the Lord together. We laugh. We share. We pray.

And often, we pray for God's peace and comfort while one of us or someone we love waits to get medical test results. 

It's hard not knowing. It's hard not to let our anxiety get the best of us. 

And yet, there in Scripture is comfort after comfort to help us while we wait for lab results, ultrasound reports and recommendations from doctors.

I've recently claimed this verse as I wait with someone I love (substituting "she" for "he" helps make it extra personal):

He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.  Psalm 112:7

And I've found comfort in the sweet words of Carolina Sandell-Berg. Her hymn "Day by Day" is the perfect hymn for moments like these. 

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best–
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He gladly bears and cheers me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself he laid:
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure"–
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust Your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when, toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.