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.

Furthermore, a tendency of the human mind is to narrow its options. It thinks mainly in terms of restricted alternatives. But what happens when we begin moving away from how a material mentality thinks, and moving toward what God, the one divine Mind, knows? That's quite a major redirection! It calls for a humble acknowledgment that man is not a mortal with a bit of matter that thinks at the top of his body. In truth, man's whole being is the expression of Spirit, and Spirit is the source of true intelligence. Divine intelligence, infinite Mind, is not confined in matter. When we begin understanding man's true nature in this light, we see that our real help is revealed by Christ, Truth; it comes from God. Man reflects the completeness of true substance, divine Love. And in human terms the practical effect of this recognition may be that we are brought together with someone who can be a blessing to us, someone who will have the effect of encouraging rather than obstructing our manifestation of divine action and intelligence.

Of itself, the human mind just isn't capable of knowing who may be most helpful. Perhaps it will turn out to be someone obvious; but maybe it will be the least obvious person. Can you imagine Christians turning to Saul of Tarsus during those early days of persecution? Yet they certainly did turn to God for help. And whom did He give them? We can appreciate the courage Ananias must have had when he was led to Saul; and what joy Ananias must have felt in observing the transformation that gave the Christian world the great Apostle Paul! ^{See Acts, chap. 9.}

But if we truly are seeing that God is Mind and that man's purpose is to reflect the wisdom and intelligence of this one Mind, we can be sure that aid will come from a God-inspired direction. We needn't be surprised if this seems to be an unexpected source. We may even find ourselves beneficiaries of the prophet's promise "The sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee." ^Isa.60:10.

Some such events may be modest. For instance, a newspaperman was searching for some information that he hadn't been able to uncover and that seemed important in order to give dimension to a series of articles he was writing about children. Out of the blue, a stranger phoned him and during the conversation mentioned exactly the information this man had been seeking. You may have experienced something similar.

Divine Love, through the action and presence of the Christ, does have a way of meeting needs, occasionally even in unexpected ways. They may be simple, personal needs; they may be major ones, perhaps involving the Christian Science movement as a whole. The book of Revelation reminds us, "The earth helped the woman." ^{Rev. 12:16.} In Science and Health Mrs. Eddy quotes the full verse and then speaks of those who are unprejudiced seekers after Truth. She assures us that "the old dragon," the Biblical figure for evil, cannot drown the Christ-idea. She says, "In this age the earth will help the woman; the spiritual idea will be understood." ^{Science and Health, p. 570.}

The earth will help us. There are always those with enough spiritual-mindedness to be just the right ones to bless us, whether our need relates to some seemingly minor daily task or to some kind of deeply significant action—if we understand adequately that it is the divine Mind that governs all.