Article April 29, 1985 Issue

Where help comes from

NATHAN A. TALBOT

In the final analysis, help comes from God. No matter how hard we try to find it elsewhere, sooner or later we are driven back to discover God as the real source of true help. This may not be an easy lesson to learn. But it's one that makes a significant difference in how effectively we deal with life's challenges.

Most people who love God acknowledge—at least in theory—that He is where solutions will be found. But in practice it's easy for the emphasis on finding answers to rest just on human effort. And unless we're alert, those efforts more and more may be built around the assumption that the essence of help actually comes from people. If we want a raise, we talk it over with our supervisor; if the lawn mower won't start, we may call our next-door neighbor who knows a little more about mechanics; if we've borne the brunt of someone's antagonism, we often turn to a friend who understands our point of view.

Of course, there may be times when we will very naturally look to others in such cases of need. And there really isn't anything wrong with that. ... Or perhaps we should say there may not be anything wrong with turning to others. It depends on whether the turning has grown out of an inclination of the human mind or the impulsion of all-knowing divine Mind. The human mind thinks that a material sense of life, of personal actions and events, contains the final answer. The influence of divine Mind always leads us to see beyond the limitations of materiality. And it enables us to discern whether the actions of those we turn to will help or hinder our reliance on God.

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