Article May 11, 2020 Issue

Facing setback—or opportunity?

Laura Clayton

This may be a familiar scenario: Just when you think things are going smoothly, and all indicators say, “Full steam ahead!” something takes a sour turn. Maybe a new job doesn’t pan out as we had hoped, or a cherished project suffers a setback. Perhaps a physical challenge arises just when the way seemed clear for greater progress.

Such experiences can feel perplexing, even unfair. But one thing I’ve come to see is that there’s more going on in these situations than meets the eye. Even when I feel I have been leaning on God to care for and protect me, there is still more for me to learn about divine goodness.

Christian Science has helped me to understand that God’s love for us never wavers, that God’s plan for us is never uncertain. The Bible reveals God as the unchanging, fixed Principle of goodness, which has forever established, and consistently maintains, harmony throughout its creation. Therefore, harmony is a divine law that governs all reality, leaving no room for happenstance, for good or bad luck. As one Old Testament writer has it, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).

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