I listened only to thoughts from God
I was having a great time at camp until my stomach started hurting.
I told my counselor that I didn’t feel well. She took me to see the camp’s Christian Science practitioner. A Christian Science practitioner is someone who prays with you to help you have a healing.
When we got there, the practitioner told me about an experience she’d had. Once, when she was washing dishes, she felt sick to her stomach. When she prayed, she felt instantly better.
Later, though, a thought said to her that maybe she should take a nap to make sure the upset feeling didn’t come back. At first, she agreed. But she caught herself—that wasn’t a thought from God! God is good, and we are His reflection. So we don’t have to do anything extra to feel good or be good. We are already good.
The practitioner told me that she thought about what Jesus did when he felt tempted by thoughts that weren’t from God. He rejected the thoughts and said that he would listen only to thoughts from God (see Luke 4:1–13).
The practitioner told me that later, at lunch time, another thought suggested that she shouldn’t eat lunch or she might feel sick again. But she rejected that thought, too, because it wasn’t from God. She ate lunch and was fine.
That evening, she was going to swim laps in the pool, but another thought tempted her, saying, “Don’t swim. Save your energy.” But she knew that she didn’t have to listen to it, just like she hadn’t listened to the other thoughts, because it wasn’t from God. She knew that God is the source of all good, including our strength. So she went swimming, and she was fine.
After I talked with her, I went back to my cabin. While I was there, I thought about how I don’t need to listen to or be tempted by any thoughts that aren’t from God. I felt fine!
Later that day, I had a thought that I could have a stomachache again, but I remembered to listen only to God and His good thoughts. The stomachache didn’t come back, and I enjoyed the rest of my time at camp.
If you feel tempted by a thought, think about whether it’s good. If it’s not, you don’t have to listen to it. We can listen to what God is telling us instead.
I am so grateful for Christian Science, and for Christ Jesus’ example, which showed me how to have a healing.
