Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3 — NIV).

I had blood drawn the other day prior to an upcoming doctor appointment.

I’m not really squeamish about the process, as I’ve had blood drawn many times in my life — as part of acne treatments as a teenager, infertility procedures as a young woman and routine checkups throughout my life, not to mention voluntarily donating blood a handful of times.

The prick doesn’t bother me much, and I really don’t mind watching that red steady stream flow from my body into the vile via the little plastic tube. In truth, I think the part I dislike most is when the phlebotomist removes the needle from my arm. There’s that funny feeling when it leaves the vein, and I dislike the pull of the skin when cotton is placed over the insertion site, held down with medical tape.

Thankfully, I have good veins. They’re easy to find, and rarely do they roll — unlike my mom’s. Hers do, which results in the phlebotomist having to fiddle with the needle once it’s already inserted into her arm. That happened to me once, and I remember feeling like I might pass out as the sweet and very sorry technician moved the needle all around for a few moments, then removed it altogether and started over. Finally my blood flowed freely, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Blood is truly an amazing thing. We need it, and to lose too much of it results in death. Entire businesses are dedicated to receiving donated blood. Sections of hospitals are for the collecting of and then the studying of blood. People go to medical school for years to become hematologists and then spend their lives studying blood’s physiology that they might contribute to its research and perhaps discover breakthroughs concerning blood-related diseases.

Blood is no small, nor simple thing. Rather, it’s complex and telling — offering answers about one’s health and identity that might otherwise go unknown. An average human being has a little more than a gallon of blood flowing throughout his or her body. It carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, as well as carries waste away and, as mentioned, is necessary for sustaining human life.

Hence, my doctor, prior to seeing me next week, ordered labs. From the blood drawn, he’ll be able to tell me my cholesterol level, how my liver is functioning, if I have any inflammation due to autoimmune disease and offer information pertaining to my hormones — whether they’re balanced or, as they’ve been in the not-so-distant past, imbalanced. (I am almost 50, after all.)

So, in these post-labs / pre-appointment days, that’s when I grow fearful. After all, what will my blood say? What secrets yet untold might it reveal? What will I find out about my overall health come next week when I meet face to face with my kind and thorough general physician?

I’m not going to lie. I’m a bit of a worrier when it comes to my health — wondering if there’s something brewing within, growing anxious at the thought that there might be something really wrong. As another caring doctor friend told me recently, “I think you’ve grown accustomed to the notion that your body just doesn’t do what you want. You feel as though you can’t count on your body to behave normally.” And she was right. Her words were truth, plain and simple.

But what about what I profess to believe? That God is in control. That my future is secure. That for me, “… to live is Christ, to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

If I truly believe these things, then shouldn’t I live each day without fear? Without anxiety? And what kind of example am I offering to those who bear witness to my worry, as I allow it to chisel away at my peace and joy?

I’m convicted, and as I ponder this promise from the ancient prophet Jeremiah, I’m reminded that God’s Word speaks so many good and precious promises to me about my life, about my value in God’s economy and my identity in Him.

And so I hold out my sword of the Spirit — the very Word of God — and allow it to penetrate and divide both my soul and spirit, joint and marrow that it might judge the thoughts and attitudes of my heart. For nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight (Hebrews 4:12, 13).

Blood withholds no secrets from God — not today or any day to come — and there’s nothing a little needle stick to the veins can reveal that He doesn’t already fully know.

This life source might bring some things to the attention of my doctor that he might better help me formulate a plan for healthier living, but nothing is hidden from the One who is my true Life Source — my strength, my shield.

He has given us His Word to cling to, and He promises to answer  when we call to Him — bringing to mind just the right word at the right moment.

Yes, those great and unsearchable things that, apart from Him, we would not know. But because of Jesus — by His blood — we can truly live in freedom…

Even in life’s unknowns.