The Benefit of Stress

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:44

Recommended Reading 2 Corinthians 4:7-12

Hematohidrosis is the medical term for a rare event in which blood is mingled with sweat and oozes out of the pores of the skin. It almost always occurs under conditions of great stress, with fear being the predominant emotion: fear of death, bodily harm, or catastrophe. During the time of stress, blood vessels around the sweat glands constrict. As the stress passes, the vessels dilate and rupture, releasing blood into the sweat glands which release the blood onto the skin, mixed with sweat. It's possible Jesus experienced hematohidrosis in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest.

We don't think of Jesus as being "stressed out" or fearful, but given what He knew was coming in a matter of hours, it would be understandable if He was. The most important thing to notice about His experience of sweating blood is what He was doing when it happened: He was praying. He took His stress or fear or whatever He was feeling and committed it to God in prayer, trusting Him for the outcome.

Stress is like a mirror -- it reveals better than anything else what is inside. The way we handle stress defines who we are.

The time of fear is the time to trust.
John MacBeath

Read-thru-the-Bible
Psalms 36:1 -- 39:13

Thank you for sharing Chad, this is my phrase of the day.

Stress is like a mirror -- it reveals better than anything else what is inside. The way we handle stress defines who we are.

Thank you for sharing Chad, this is my phrase of the day.

Stress is like a mirror -- it reveals better than anything else what is inside. The way we handle stress defines who we are.