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Key Bible Verse: As they discussed who should be appointed … Pharaoh said, "Who could do it better than Joseph?" (Genesis 41:38). Bonus Reading: Gen. 40:1-41:40

Against all odds, C. Everett Koop finally got the job of surgeon general, emerging as one of America's most visible, colorful, and admired public servants.

As a pediatric surgeon operating on thousands of patients—many small enough to hold in one hand—he'd a soft spot for the weak and disenfranchised. Accustomed to success, as he sat isolated in his Washington office during the 1981 nomination hearings, for the first time he too felt weak and disenfranchised. 

As the weeks dragged by, fiercely opposed interest groups warily called to probe the nominee. Koop realized that gay rights advocates and pro-choicers were part of the nation whose medical needs he'd oversee. He now looks back on that time as a wonderful gift:

"I had a chance to look at the health problems of the nation and wonder what I could do about them when finally let loose. During that nine months I developed a detailed agenda. That period of acute frustration made possible every single thing I achieved in office. Now that's the sovereignty of God at work!"

—Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor

My Response: What frustrating situation should I trust God to transform with a positive outcome?

Thought to Apply: [Koop's] detractors, who meant him harm, paradoxically helped deliver to him the public platform he'd need to accomplish his goals. —Philip Yancey

Adapted from Soul Survivor (Galilee/Doubleday/RandomHouse, 2001) by permission.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

When I face serious setbacks or prolonged waiting, arm me with full confidence, Lord, that you are with me.

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