From Uncertainty to Assurance: The Power of Spirit-Led Care

At our clinics, you walk into a patient room and never know what the Lord is already doing in someone’s life. During a typical visit our team is doing its best to navigate a pastoral conversation through asking open ended questions, empathizing, and active listening. But at the core, we aim to allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us with how to best care for the patient in front of us.

Recently, some of our team was reminded of the importance of listening to the Spirit’s prompting instead of our expectations or assumptions.

A few weeks ago our Director of Clinical Services, Kimo, was training one of our Gap Year Interns, Scout, in the Pastoral Care role. During their shift, they encountered a Spanish-speaking patient and despite their efforts to use the language line, the phone was cutting in and out and everyone was having a hard time hearing the interpreter. Kimo tried to bridge the gap with his limited Spanish, but communication remained challenging.

“I tried my broken Spanish to communicate with her but gave up because I could tell we were both having a hard time understanding each other,” Kimo recalled. Noticing that the patient wore a shirt with a Bible verse on it and mentioned attending a nearby church, Kimo felt some reassurance about her spiritual background.

After leaving the room though he still felt prompted that the conversation wasn’t yet done with this patient. He discussed the situation with Roxana, our Early Prenatal Care MA and a fluent Spanish speaker, and asked if she would be willing to accompany Scout back into the room even though that wasn’t part of Roxana’s typical responsibilities for the day.

Roxana was willing to divert some time, and soon after entering that patient room she and Scout returned, both full of joy and celebrating a significant moment: the patient had accepted Christ!

From Roxana’s perspective, the encounter was led fully by the Holy Spirit.

“I walked in with Scout and asked about the church she mentioned going to and what she was learning about Jesus. She gave me all the right “churchy” answers, but something kept sticking out to me about clarifying what she really believed about Jesus.”

The patient shared that she had begun going to church two years ago and had decided to follow Jesus then, but Roxana sensed lingering uncertainty. “Again, I had a feeling, a prompting from the Holy Spirit to keep leaning in, so I asked her where she would end up if she was to die today. She said she didn’t know as she had been struggling to understand all that.”

Moved by the patient’s honesty, Roxana shared the gospel, drawing The Bridge Illustration on the back of the patient’s discharge summary to help walk through Romans 6:23.

“She had a big smile on her face when I was done,” Roxana remembered.

“The patient shared that for about a week she had had questions about God and was unsure of some things, but now she understood. When asked if she wanted to pray to fully put her trust in Christ, the patient responded enthusiastically, ‘yes!’.”

Roxana and Scout prayed with the patient, and as her visit wrapped up she was radiating happiness from the newfound assurance of her salvation.

After watching his teammates celebrate this outcome, Kimo reflected, “While she was wearing a shirt with a bible verse and had been going to church, she had no assurance of salvation. Especially with the complications of the translation line, this would have been an easy patient to only have a brief or high-level conversation with, assuming she already knew the gospel. But following the Holy Spirit’s prompting, Roxana had a more in depth conversation which led to a salvation story. On her way out, the patient shared that she believed this was the whole reason she came to the clinic — to hear the good news.”

 Scout, who wants to attend Medical School in the future, looks back on the importance of that visit and how it has already impacted her approach to working in healthcare.

"Because of that encounter, I now walk into every room prayerfully, reminding myself to be courageous and bold like Roxana and Kimo were that day. I love how Watermark Health is intentional with their time; no matter how busy things get, we never pass up the opportunity to make patients feel cared for and to tell them about Jesus. Serving here has not only given me clinical experience, but it has also strengthened my faith and deepened my sense of purpose as a believer."

In our work at the clinic and throughout our daily lives, it’s vital to trust the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we interact with others. We may never fully understand the reasons God brings certain people into our path, but by remaining open and attentive to spiritual promptings, we can respond with compassion and wisdom. The recent experience with a patient—who came seeking assurance of her salvation and found it through a Spirit-led conversation—reminds us that every encounter holds the potential for transformation.