Most of us would never want to hold to a mistaken or erroneous view of something. If we found out we had a mistaken view, we would naturally want to get rid of that false perspective and replace it with what’s true. 

This especially includes the truth about us—about our identity, what we really are. In the Bible, the book of Genesis gives us the true, spiritual view of our identity where it says, “God created man in his own image … ; male and female created he them” (1:27), and, “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (1:31). If we are created by God as His image, then the truth about our real nature is not only that we are “very good,” but also that we are spiritual, since the Bible also says that “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24). This is the truth about what we are, and any view of us as less than “very good,” or as material instead of spiritual, is false, erroneous.

When we see ourselves as created by God in His image and likeness, expressing God’s qualities of goodness, wholeness, and freedom, we are seeing ourselves correctly. But if we see ourselves as fallen and broken, and as separated from God, then we are letting error cloud our judgment about what we are. When we hold to the truth of our spiritual identity as God’s image, and recognize and eliminate errors from our consciousness, those errors fall away from our lives as well.

The Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, instructs us, “Resist evil—error of every sort—and it will flee from you” (p. 406). In thinking about this passage, I have wondered, How often do I think of evil as fleeing from me? Much of the time, errors about my nature as material or flawed seem to be constantly coming at me, rather than running away. But I’ve realized that with an understanding of God as divine Life, Truth, and Love, and of each one of us as created in God’s image and likeness, we can stand our ground, spiritually and confidently, knowing that all evil must flee (as darkness flees from light) because it has no power or reality in God’s creation. As the Bible says in Ephesians, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (6:11), and in James, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (4:7).

We can stand our ground, spiritually and confidently, knowing that all evil must flee (as darkness flees from light) because it has no power or reality in God’s creation.

A healing of a knee injury I experienced several years ago demonstrates how evil flees when we submit ourselves to God. I had developed an intense pain in my right knee that increasingly got worse, making it difficult for me to go up and down stairs or even to walk. The difficulty seemed related to the amount of running I had been doing. Because the injury seemed severe, healing it was at the forefront of my thought. I engaged in extended periods of study of the Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy, and I clung to the true idea of myself as a perfect child of God. But despite this prayer and study, the physical symptoms only continued to worsen. I was frustrated and disappointed.

One day, I was at the end of my rope. I threw myself down on my bed and humbly prayed, “This is it, God; I’ve done everything I know to do. You tell me what I need to do.” In the silence that followed, without delay, and with absolute clarity, the thought came to me, “Go to church.”

For various reasons, none of them great ones, I hadn’t been to a church service at a Church of Christ, Scientist, for quite some time, even though I still considered myself a Christian Scientist. But I resolved to go to the upcoming Sunday service. Sunday was a few days away, and as I looked forward to that service with sweet anticipation, I dug into the Bible and Science and Health and engaged in study regarding the spiritual significance of Church. Even though I had probably read every single passage about Church before, I now discovered a whole world of ideas as if for the first time. The more I read, the more I realized that my thoughts were no longer concentrated on me or even on my knee. Instead, my thoughts were reaching outward—to loving God and sincerely wishing to reflect God’s love for all humanity.

I went to that Sunday service and felt wonderfully uplifted by the gentle and dignified spiritual truths that were shared. I went back for the Wednesday evening testimony meeting and continued to attend both services from then on.  

As for my knee, I had forgotten all about it. I was learning so much spiritually—and experiencing such a real and profound joy at the deepening understanding of divine Truth and Love that was coming with my study about Church—that my physical condition was now the farthest thing from my mind. Yet, running has always been a huge part of my life, so about a week later I felt I would like to go for a run. And I enjoyed a long run with no physical complaints whatsoever. My knee was completely healed. I was so grateful to have witnessed how evil—the erroneous view that I could be less than “very good”—totally fled from me.

When I think of “fleeing,” I think of the scampering sounds of little critters that I hear in the woods when I go for long runs near my home. The animals know I’m coming, and they make way. I’m also aware that in addition to animals fleeing in a way that I can hear, other creatures clear off without my ever knowing it.

As a result of my resisting evil, or error, and holding to spiritual truth, the healing extended even further than I understood at the time. 

When we pray, however, evil doesn’t just flee to some other location, as animals do in the woods. In reality, evil has no “location” to flee to. Rather, when evil “flees” it is revealed as nothing—as never having been created by God. But this analogy can help us to understand that when evil flees from us, we may not always know the full extent of the benefits that come from seeing error’s unreality. When we pray to know God’s allness, and truly understand the wholeness and completeness of God’s creation, we see real and tangible benefits in our lives—and those benefits can stretch even beyond our immediate field of vision.  

For example, it wasn’t until years later that I realized how wide in scope the healing of the knee injury was. Prior to the injury, I had grown accustomed to waking up sore on a regular basis. I had accepted this as a natural consequence of the running activity I had always enjoyed so much. What I didn’t recognize until long after the healing of the knee was that I had stopped experiencing that soreness as well. Despite running just as hard, including training for and competing in multiple marathons, I haven’t woken up sore since that healing.

So not only did that healing bring relief to my knee, but it also brought healing to a condition I had not been specifically treating. This shows the far-reaching effects of prayer springing from what we know and understand of our spiritual wholeness as God’s perfect creation. As a result of my resisting evil, or error, and holding to spiritual truth, the healing extended even further than I understood at the time. 

In a world that can sometimes seem to be teeming with evil, and where anger, jealousy, and fear seem to be motivating so many, it can often feel as though evil is coming at us from all sides. I’m so grateful for my healing experiences that have helped me prove my dominion, so that rather than being inundated with or overwhelmed by erroneous beliefs, I can resist those thoughts and hold aloft the light of Truth, which naturally causes evil to flee and vanish.