Article August 6, 2007 Issue

BIBLE PROMISES BRING HEALING

BY CINDY ROEMER

Sometimes when I've felt most discouraged, it's been an image, not wordy metaphysical arguments, that has inspired my prayers and lifted me up. Like the rainbow that brightened the sky over Noah's ark, or the Magis' star in the East, pictorial symbols of God's grace and promise have spoken clearly to respective hearts for millennia. They can break the spell of fear and despair in difficult times and open the way to healing.

Aspects of the natural world that hint at the vastness, order, and creativity of infinite Mind fill me with awe—a beautifully formed flower, rugged mountains standing tall against a flawless blue sky, or clouds at sunset that explode with color before settling into the serenity of night. When confronted with such symbols of grace, it's with quiet gratitude that I begin to understand and feel spiritual concepts in a new and fresh way.

The Bible records countless examples of God's love made tangible to His people with "signs and wonders"—clear evidence that the protection, guidance, reassurance, and provision needed were already present in the form of spiritual ideas. Moses and the children of Israel, for example, were led through the wilderness by following a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night; and Job was lifted out of hopelessness and despair when he considered the vastness of the universe and man's place in it.