'Faith is believing everything is going to be okay': Christian doctor hears voice of God

'As Christians, we shouldn't just talk about helping others, but we also need to act.'

Dr. Ester Kwok, MD, a Stanford, CA doctor, heard God calling her to sacrifice a part of herself for the sake of another.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - One of Dr. Kwok's longtime patients, Jonathan Chan, has lived with chronic kidney disease for over thirty years.

He received two kidney transplants during that time, but unfortunately both failed.

Chan's unique blood type coupled with the two failed transplants resulted in extremely low odds of him ever receiving another kidney. Coincidentally, Dr. Kwok's medical assistant was also in need of the vital organ.

Dr. Kwok told The Gospel Herald, "I am a Christian, and I believe that God puts us in situations where he wants us to be his instruments. We prayed for healing, and it wasn't happening.

"I thought it was kind of coincidental that two individuals I knew needed kidney transplants - I thought, 'Maybe God isn't healing because he wanted me to do something.'"

Unfortunately, like most times when God challenges us, Kwok was not happy with the idea of donating an organ.

"One of the reasons Asians cannot donate is because we believe that our bodies are given from our mothers, and you have to honor your mother by honoring your body by keeping it whole and not doing any harm to it," she explained.

Dr. Kwok was raised a Christian and knew that her cultural beliefs could sometimes interfere - but that did not make her decision any easier.

"I knew that God was able to heal, and my hope was that a miracle would happen of God's doing without man needing to step it," she admitted. "But in this instance, I knew I just needed to walk by faith and be used by God - I knew a miracle would still happen.

"As Christians, we shouldn't just talk about helping others, but we also need to act. By acting, I'm actually internalizing and expressing what my mother taught me. What bigger way to honor what she is than act up on what she taught me?"

Dr. Kwok stood by Hebrews 10:38, which states, "My upright person will live through faith..."

She joined the National Kidney Registry and discovered she was neither a match for Chan nor her assistant. She trusted God would work a miracle and decided to remain on the registry.

Dr. Kwok continued her medical practice and her assistant eventually received a viable transplant. Still, Dr. Kwok waited.

Three years later, she was informed she could help Chan by providing her kidney to a person who would otherwise have received a kidney that was not as close a match.

It was through this 12-person donation chain that Dr. Kwok was able to indirectly donate her kidney to help Chan receive a new one.

When Chan discovered Dr. Kwok's decision, he attempted to talk her out of it and was concerned with her health.

"I told him that mine was a free gift and he needed only accept just as eternal life was a free gift that I accepted, and since I was given eternal life, then how could I not give a small part of me when asked," Dr. Kwok told him.

She admitted her motivation was when God saved her from the life of a sinner who did not know him. She explained, "I gave under anesthesia, but Jesus gave without anesthesia for all men. If he did this, how can I not do what God asked of me?"

Dr. Kwok and Chan underwent surgery June 2015 and at the first checkup she learned his body was attempting to reject the organ.

"I said, 'Lord, I went through all of this - I never pondered that rejection might be something that would happen. Did I go through all of this for nothing?" she asked.

That was when she heard the voice of God. She described it as a gentle reprimand for her doubt. "I allowed this to happen," he told her, "You must have faith, I wouldn't have done all of this for nothing."

One year later, Dr. Kwok saw Chan again - and both he and the transplanted kidney were healthy.

That was when she truly realized the truth in God's plan for her.

"Faith is believing everything is going to be okay," she explained, "but I felt in my heart he was going to be okay, and learning to trust in God in spite of not being able to see ahead is what faith is.

"I don't know [what] God has in store for me in the future, but I know that whatever it is, I just have to walk and trust him.

"In hindsight it's easy to see faith, but it's hard to see looking forward. I've learned to say 'yes' to whatever he gives me, and my faith grows, and he gives me more each time. I wonder what else he has for me in store."

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