Article May 4, 1998 Issue

WHAT IS GOD THINKING?

Janis Elisabeth Hunt Johnson

This may seem like an odd question. But what if we could actually hear for ourselves what God, divine Mind, is thinking? I had an experience once that taught me not only that we can hear God's thoughts but that listening for them brings healing.

I was at an impasse with my best friend, my husband. Whenever we talked about a certain issue, we both became furious. I had often asked God to solve this problem to my liking, with no progress. During another heated argument, I gave up trying to fix the situation the way I thought it should be resolved. This time I humbly prayed for an end to this pattern of confusion and resentment.

Unexpectedly, even in the midst of that uproar, these words came to my thought: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2, New International Version). The Apostle Paul wrote this to the early Christians in Rome almost two millenniums ago, but it was as though God were saying it to me right then. As if a spell had been broken, all of a sudden I was able to understand what my husband had been trying for months to tell me. Almost at the same instant, he became calm and able to listen to my viewpoint, too. During the next few weeks, we both found forgiveness, and all traces of hostility vanished.

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