God's Work and Mine at Exam Time

ROGER VAUGHAN BEVAN

A short while ago I was faced with the prospect of taking the preliminary doctoral exams before the date I had mentally scheduled.

My past experience had shown that a person who trusts God as the only intelligence and his own God-given power of expressing this intelligence can pass the most difficult human tests. Mrs. Eddy states: "Mind is not necessarily dependent upon educational processes. It possesses of itself all beauty and poetry, and the power of expressing them." ^{Science and Health, p. 89
;} As God's child, man participates fully in this effortless expression of intelligence. The Bible shows many individuals demonstrating their God-given wisdom. But no Biblical character ever won his wisdom gratuitously; it was always gamed through a deep desire to wait on God with diligence, persistence, and patience.

In preparing for this examination, I realized that it would be foolish to sit back and expect God to take the human footsteps for me. The hymn states,

The work to be performed is ours,
The strength is all His own. Christian Science Hymnal, No. 354:

In Miscellaneous Writings Mrs. Eddy clearly shows that success in any human field requires diligence and patience: "That law-school is not at fault which sends forth a barrister who never brings out a brief. Why? Because he followed agriculture instead of litigation, forsook Blackstone for gray stone, dug into soils instead of delving into suits, raised potatoes instead of pleas, and drew up logs instead of leases. He has not been faithful over a few things." ^{Mis., p. 340
;}

Procrastination and sloth lurked as my enemies. So I began systematic study, covering all aspects of my field and knowing all die time that I was being guided by God, Mind. Any frivolous diversion from this study, I felt, would be forsaking "Blackstone for gray stone."

This Bible verse: "It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure," ^{Phil. 2:13
;} gave me the understanding that God was both willing and doing His work in me, and that this was what enabled me to do mine. Right desire would help me do the work correctly.

Working in the above manner, I conquered my tendency to procrastinate and cleared the way for a more effortless expression of Mind in my experience. While writing the exams I had a keen sense that all the necessary information was being given me precisely at the moment when I needed it. This was a demonstration in Christian Science that the allness of the divine Mind proves dominant in the human sphere and destroys ignorance, forgetfulness, and muddled reasoning;.

Christ Jesus gave this advice on speaking, and it has its relevance to the writing of exams: "The Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say." ^{Luke 12:12
.} Jesus' disciples—to whom the words were spoken—were working on a diviner plane than the merely human, scholastic one. But each one of them must have applied himself to the work of bringing his thoughts in line with God before he had gone forth to preach. All had doubtless shown many good human qualities, thus allying themselves to the deific wisdom before being chosen as disciples.

The results of my exams were excellent. One professor commented, "Very well planned!" I would rather say, "Very well unfolded, because it was an unfoldment of facts and not an accretion of them. But the chief point is that the divine plan behind my work was unmistakably evident.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Editorial

Dispelling Mental Darkness

January 4, 1969

Contents

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit