Reaching the edge of my endurance, I gripped the panic device tightly and gulped another breath of air. Opening my eyes, I glanced nervously at the clock on the wall. Another two minutes and fifty-one seconds remained. Could I make it without pressing the panic button?

“Lie perfectly still—don’t move a muscle,” Darryl, the technician running the test, had instructed me as he tethered my legs to the exam table.

My swollen knees were throbbing in pain. The rat-a-tat-tat of the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine was as unrelenting as a jackhammer with no off-switch. This monstrous machine had entombed me for nearly an hour, and anxiety was crushing my chest. I must have sung every hymn I could remember from “Amazing Grace” to “Victory in Jesus” in double-time, as the hands on the clock had barely advanced.

I don’t know if I can do this, Lord, I pleaded in my mind! I had other experiences with MRI testing, but I had never reacted like this. What’s wrong with me? Have I developed claustrophobia?

Feeling as though I might freak out at any moment, I began quoting Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

I spoke aloud, “Thank You, Jesus, for Your promises! I do claim them and stand on them!” I relaxed the stranglehold I had on the panic device and quoted another of my favorite texts from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks—for this is the will of God in Jesus Christ for you.”

Finally—Darryl was at my side and I thought my ordeal was over. As I attempted to bolt from the table, he restrained me and instructed me to hold still. He needed to give me an injection of contrast dye and do another test for comparison. We had another thirty minutes to go!

My heart felt faint. Suddenly, I had the thought that this could be a test the Lord had designed for my benefit. Jeremiah 12:5 came to mind, “If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses?” I figured it was time for me to “cowboy up” (a saying from Texas which, simply translated, means “be a man!”).

The Lord brought to my remembrance another promise, “He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! Assuredly not!” (Hebrews 13:5 AMP).

As the countdown for the next test began, I started singing, “Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine, oh what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.” Thoughts of my eternal future began flooding my mind. As I thought about the initials MRI, “Magnificent Redeemer Incarnate” came to my mind. The stresses and woes of earthly life faded as I contemplated the peace and joy of Heaven, where there will be no more sickness, heartaches, or financial concerns, and “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes…for the former things have passed away,” (Revelation 21:4).

I opened my eyes when Darryl tapped my shoulder. I hadn’t noticed that the room had gone quiet—the test was over! As the automated table began emerging my body from the mechanical cocoon which had encased me for the last hour and a half, I realized how real God’s promise in Isaiah 26:3 had become to me—He will keep us in perfect peace when our mind is concentrated on Him!

God allowed me to reach the edge of my endurance, but He upheld me and proved that—as long as I trust in Him—His everlasting arms would keep me from going over the edge.