Future supply, support, protection, and safety depend largely upon the way in which mortals occupy their time and thought in the present. A blind belief in God's goodness without a scientific, active understanding of it may not manifest itself outwardly in goodness; but a conscious, active willingness to serve in God's vineyard to-day opens the way for employment, satisfactory work, and joyous achievement in the to-morrow.

A student of Christian Science was once far from home without a position and with her funds running very low. She tried to get employment, but was unsuccessful. She tried to borrow money to tide her over until more prosperous days, but was unsuccessful. She attempted again to find a position, but was told by the last prospective employer that he not only had nothing for her, but that he did not expect to have anything in the future, and therefore it would not be necessary for her to return.

Feeling discouraged and humanly forsaken she went home to her room. Christian Science must surely be able to pull her out of this predicament, she thought, as it had on so many previous occasions. With a great willingness to be shown the way, she reached for one of the books on the table and opened it at random. The book was the Message to The Mother Church for 1901 by Mary Baker Eddy. "Rest assured you can never lack God's outstretched arm so long as you are in His service" was the first sentence she read, on page 1. The words came home to her as a marvelous promise of support; but they carried a condition and a requirement—"so long as you are in His service." How could she be in God's service? What must she do? How must she think?

Then followed a conscientious and supreme effort to order her thinking in accordance with God's—to actually be at that present moment "in His service." Gratitude, it seemed to her, was one of the prime essentials. So she recounted to herself all of the numerous times that Christian Science had healed her, and recognized these to be the operation of God's law in her human affairs. To worry or to be depressed was surely not being "in His service." Therefore, regardless of the fear which the material sense flaunted before her, she replaced them with thoughts of the presence of Spirit, the nearness of Love, and the omnipotence of Life.

Blaming someone else for not lending her money was an attempt, she decided, to shift the burden to another's shoulders. Besides, borrowing money, in this case, would only have postponed the day when she must rely unreservedly on God for her supply. Here was an opportunity for seeing the salvation of the Lord, and she welcomed it by wiping out all resentment toward the unwilling lender. Thus she lifted a burden form her own heart.

Acceptance of the predictions of human beings concerning lack of employment and belief that these prognostications could in any way block her path had to be corrected if she were to abide in God's service. "To calculate one's life-prospects from a material basis." writes Mrs. Eddy on page 319 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "would infringe upon spiritual law and misguide human hope." Thus the student shut out these forebodings of mortals and clung to the truth of man's inseparability from the Father, his conscious at-one-ment and coexistence with the source of all substance.

Furthermore, since God is Life, being "in His service" must involve activity, industriousness, a willingness to work, however humble the task, a mental alertness and openness to see the opportunity at hand. In the presence and service of Life, she maintained, there is no hazy meditation nor halfhearted routine performance. These must melt away before a conscious, active, joyous obedience.

Possibly only an hour had gone by, but a great transformation had taken place in thought. A long mental journey was being consummated from the darkness of discouragement, self-pity, and worry to the light of consciously being in God's presence. She finally came to the conclusion that if she could in that present moment do the task nearest at hand with a whole-hearted devotion to expressing life, joy, alertness, courage, humbleness, never allowing herself to run mentally ahead to see what was going to happen when that task was finished, then such activity would surely constitute being "in His service."

The nearest task at hand was a very humble one, that of washing an article of wearing apparel. There was no glamour in this, no special reward, and no inspiration. Yet the student was "willing and obedient." She tackled it with a humility and a vigor and a joy, with her whole heart and mind and attention. She even sang, though it took an effort; and never for a moment did she allow herself to think beyond the work at hand. She had conquered worry, fear, anxiety, resentment, and was performing her task with unusual confidence and happiness.

Before she had quite finished, the telephone rang. The law of God, she recognized, was already operating in her human affairs. The very one who only a few hours before had told her that he would have nothing for her was now asking how soon she could be in his office to begin some research work which he wanted to start that same afternoon. Here was a clear-cut proof of the presence of the outstretched arm of God as soon as she had put herself "in His service." This law of God is instantaneous. It may take mortals some time to prepare themselves to receive God's blessings, but the moment they have complied with the rules and requirements, they begin to see that the law of God is ever operating in their behalf. This continuously quickening action of Mind nullifies so-called physical, natural, and economic laws, pierces the miasma of depression, and sets one's feet upon the rock where man's goings are established by God.

The employment which this student was given on that day was only temporary, but she was convinced that doing that work as well and as joyosly and whole-heartedly as she had done the other work would in due season give her more work. Had she not the promise in Leviticus, "And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely"?