Have you ever thought about...

Have you ever thought about the spiritual fact that God is watching out for you -- that you’re not alone on your life-path? Not that He’s watching you mortally, but that as His idea, His creation, He cares for you, guides you, and defends you? This spiritual truth that God is always with us, caring for us means that we are never alone, never isolated, never misguided. Being in the very presence of God we can hear His guidance and feel His direction as we learn to prayerfully commune with Him. In this way we are not only constantly in contact, in oneness, with God, good, but we are, as His child, the very manifestation of His being and doing. This enables us to reflect His power, embody His word, and receive His guidance.

Sometimes, though it may feel like hearing God’s directing, or feeling His presence, or knowing what our God-provided path should be is obscured or obstructed with doubt and fear. 

Dismay or discouragement may have set in and we may feel as if we know that God is guiding us, but we’re simply not able to know His guidance. This can, however, be resolved by learning to spiritually see the divine facts of our relationship with God, good, and what He has already established. 

In this way, we’re not trying to change matter, but rather we are seeing the allness of Spirit, God, and His ever-lasting guidance.

Perhaps one of the greatest examples of divine guidance comes from Jesus’ temptation as recorded in the book of Luke in the Bible. Here, the Bible records that just after Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist in the wilderness he went to the mountaintop, full of the Holy Ghost, or divine understanding of his pure relationship with God. He was about to embark on his public ministry and sought God’s guidance and preparation for his upcoming mission. But while there, he was tempted for forty days and nights by thoughts that were aggressive and life-threatening. His understanding of the Holy Ghost was threatened by the emptiness of a so-called power other than God which promised to give him authority over all material kingdoms, by nourishment that was other than the bread of Truth, and by jumping from the pinnacle of the mountain and asking God to save him from an impetuous act and testing God’s promise of divine protection. But, it was the Christ, the ideal man, in him that saw through these misguided, malicious, and threatening mental suggestions. His Christly thought and understanding saw through the attempt to take him out of the picture and destroy his God-guided mission and he responded with divine authority: “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Luke 4:8)!

Jesus’ quick and exact command to the aggressive mental suggestions coming to him enabled him to face the suggestions with spiritual strength and authority. By not backing down, refusing to listen even to a little of the carnal mind taunting him, and standing up for his God-given mission and direction he destroyed this aspect of carnality that would attempt to lead him astray and harm him. It was the Christly thought within Jesus that saved him and it is the Christly thought within us that saves us.

The Christly thought within each of us is the spiritual awareness of the power and authority of God acting on our behalf. It leads us, directs us, protects us, and defends us. It removes fear, solidifies our spiritual understanding, gives us courage and strength. It affects a change of base from matter to Spirit and results in disease destroyed, sin supplanted with righteousness, fear forfeited for fearlessness. It is the right idea at the right time, with our footsteps following along unerringly. It is the unfoldment of what steps to take and when. It is the unbiased message coming from Mind to Mind’s idea, man, without a separation, a time delay, or an erroneous path. It is a message from God to His creation, man, but not a message from outside of Mind or His idea, but from within. It is not coming to us as mortals, through a mortal mentality with knowledge of mortal circumstances, but is with us as the immediate reflection of God, naturally adjusting all that needs adjustment. And this is why it is always with us. It’s not something that we have to tap into or reach out toward. It is as close as our thoughts, which emanate from divine Mind. And because of this, we are able to hear the directing of God in all circumstances, under all conditions.

There may seem to be days or times or experiences when we feel we’re not hearing the Christly thought we need which is speaking to us, we’re not feeling the guidance and care conveyed to us by God through Christ. We don’t know what to do or how to think correctly. We may feel a bit like a ship lost at sea. But, the Christly element in consciousness pursues and is presently active in thought whether or not we acknowledge it or even feel it at the moment. It is there because it is as ever-present as God. It affects our thought and alters our ways, protecting and guiding. It is continually knocking at the door of our consciousness. In the book of Revelation it’s recorded that the spirit, or Christ, said unto the church of Sardis, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev 3:20). We can pray that the door of our consciousness is open to the Christ-guidance and protection here and now.

The purpose of the Christ is to act. It guides, protects, reforms, renews. It acts in opposite direction to mortality and fear, thus eliminating them from consciousness. When peace is needed, Christ is giving peace. When health is needed, Christ is destroying disease. When supply is wanting, Christ leads us to the needed right idea. When pain seems to be present, Christ acts as the painkiller. When guidance is desired, Christ is pointing the way through spiritual right ideas. Christ is active. It is always doing something, always altering for the better, destroying, healing, reclaiming. The needed Christly thought doesn’t take time to get to us or to find us. It is always present, here and now. It provides all needs and supplies all wants. This is what the Christ does. It acts and does according to God’s will.

Our God-given path is outlined and directed by God. This path is spiritual, not material. It is the fulfillment of being and doing It is our individual mission or divine commission. It is foreordained for each of us, and it is good. It is unique and no one else can fill our shoes or accomplish what God has given us to do. And this path becomes clearer to us as we rise higher and higher through our scientific right thought and prayer. Mrs. Eddy, the Founder of Christian Science, defines, Mind as “Deity, which outlines but is not outlined” (SH 591:19). This points to Mind’s tender care for His creation in guiding and directing and creating, as well as the illimitable ability of Mind to guide unerringly.

It’s only natural that God, good, would outline for each one of His children a unique path leading to Him. Indeed, a path that proves we are already with Him, because God, divine Mind, expresses Himself through His creation, through you and me. As divine Mind, He creates and expresses ideas. 

You and I are, each one, are an idea of divine Mind, expressed in perfection, wholeness, spiritual substance. A mind without ideas is an impossibility. But Mind, God, with ideas naturally manifests its ideas in all the grandeur and perfection of its conception. And He outlines these ideas in all the spiritual qualities necessary to express Himself, completely and wholly.

As we turn to God in scientific prayer we’ll find that our God-ordained/directed path cannot be erased by any supposed fear or disease or mishap. It is a path of health and spiritual affluence, which is inevitable because we are His divine reflection, being and acting just like Him. The path God has outlined for you is for you and we can rest assured in Mrs. Eddy’s words, “When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path” (SH 254:10).