As I write, my blood is on the way to the labs for evaluation. I studied as hard as I could for this test, but I don’t know that I’m going to pass! 
I sure am grateful to all who have prayed. Results will come sometime next week.
I felt honored when asked to share a word of encouragement with a group of missionaries while we were in Israel. It can be a bit intimidating to speak to men and women who literally put their lives on the line in the mission field. But these brothers and sisters humbly admit they are no different than us, and we understand that no Christian is exempt from the attacks of the evil one.
Worry is one of those weapons the enemy uses to discourage and detain the children of the King. If God gives the missionary the grace not to worry about the dangers in the land, the temptation to worry about finances and support might creep into the mind. Sitting on the hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, where many believe Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, I shared what I felt the Lord showed me the previous day. Some of these friends knew that my blood counts had revealed the return of cancer, so I asked if it was possible for me to follow Jesus’ instructions about worry. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
The day before this trip to the northern part of Israel, we retraced the last steps of Jesus from the room of the Last Supper to Gethsemane to Pilate’s residence to Golgotha. As we read the Scriptures on the Passion of Christ, I couldn’t help but wonder if he worried. We know Jesus lived out the Sermon on the Mount perfectly, but what was going through his mind as he faced betrayal and death? Did he whistle a tune and pretend nothing was wrong? Such a thought is absurd. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” were the honest words of a man in anguish.
When I walked into the Church of the Nations at Gethsemane, a flood of emotion hit me. Part of it was remembering what Jesus endured on my behalf, but another part dealt with my own circumstance. I understand the plea, “Abba, Father, let this cup pass,” but I desire the attitude that enabled the rest of the prayer. “”My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Jesus showed us the secret to dealing with worry; he went to the Father. How else could he have faced denial, desertion, accusation, beating, mockery, crucifixion, and all the sins of the world? No one has ever faced a trial with such courage, poise, and lack of fear as our Master did. The time He spent in prayer to His Father at Gethsemane prepared him. Now he invites those who are frightened and weary to come to him.
Another significant thing happened at Gethsemane. Jesus asked his friends to watch and pray. I’ve fallen asleep in church too many times to suggest that I would have done any better than Peter, James, and John, but I hope I’ll pray for my friends. We do not know the difference our prayers make. Jesus told Peter that he had prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail. That’s what I need my friends to pray for me… and that’s what I want to pray for my friends.
“He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done.’ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’” Luke 22:41-46