Medical studies have proven that worry attacks the central nervous system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system of our bodies. Charles Mayo, of the Mayo Clinic, said, “You can worry yourself to death, but you cannot worry yourself to a longer life.”
Noah was exposed to such frightening experiences he could have worried himself to death; after all, he survived the equivalent of a nuclear holocaust. While Sunday school stories conjure up in our minds the picture of Noah as a quaint, folksy, old zookeeper with a plump, rosy-cheeked wife, he was in fact a very strong, courageous man of character and faith who could have been tremendously traumatized by the most violent catastrophe in history.
Surely Noah knew the paralysis of fear and the total paranoia of worry. But he also knew by experience that the God of the storm is also the God of all comfort, able to calm his fears as he kept his faith in God and his focus on God.
How could Mary bear to watch her Son tortured? Yet how could she tear herself away?
Her entire body must have quivered as though from an electric shock as she heard Jesus calling to her from the Cross. Surely her breath caught as she strained to hear His words, yet He spoke clearly, “‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple [John], ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27, NIV). And somehow, even with the horror of the scene before her, and the weight of agony pressing against her chest, she knew everything was going to be all right. She didn’t understand, but in the midst of the anguish only a mother knows as her heart is shattered by the pain of her child, a quiet peace must have stolen its way within when God spoke directly and personally to her from the Cross. God had singled her out, He had noticed her, He had cared for her, and she was comforted.
How busy are you in Christian service? Are you involved in some type of Christian activity every day of the week? How often are you in church? More than three or four times each week?
Would Jesus say to you, as He did to the Christians at Ephesus: “I know. I know your deeds, your hard work, your perseverance.” Did you think Jesus didn’t know all that you are doing for Him? Did you think He doesn’t see your work behind the scenes, in the kitchen, in the maintenance room, in the nursery, in the parking lot, or in the home – where no one thanks you or encourages you because no one even notices what you do? While others get the attention, the acclaim, the awards, and the affirmation, Jesus says, “I’ve noticed. I know. Thank you for all you are seeking to do in My Name.” Would you accept His encouragement?
