Hang on to what is permanent

Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters tend to leave great want in their wake. In 2005, many people literally lost everything they had. In some cases they are still struggling to recover.

When I think of these people, my heart is deeply moved. But I also think of the soul-stirring message in the book of Job in the Bible.

Job lost everything—his wealth, his children, his status in society. He was in pain, suffering with bad health. People who came to comfort him just made him feel more frustrated, because they couldn’t really understand how much his world had changed.

And yet somehow, out of his encounters with those he called “miserable comforters,” and his search of his own heart, he realized God was the only source of his life and well being. And he acknowledged this by saying to God, “I know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.”

The result was that his whole life was renewed. Or, as the Bible puts it, “The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

This message from the Bible is still valid. If you or I lost everything we had, and the clothes on our backs were our only possessions, we would still have a resource. Right in the spot where it humanly appears we are helpless, God is our very present help. In the realm of Spirit, lack is unknown.

There’s a story that has many variations, but the message is the same. One version speaks of the cleaning lady, who, seeing a homeless man, gave him the last of her coins and whispered to herself, “All I have left is God. What else do I need?”

That kind of trust, that kind of faith, is a priceless possession. It is an affirmation that God doesn’t send evil or lack as a way of testing us or teaching us a lesson. God never left us.

God is good, and God loves us. Wherever we are, or whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, we can learn what it means to have a spiritual heritage, one that provides for us in every way.

The basis for our heritage is that we are one with God, with Love and Truth, with Life and Principle, with Soul, Spirit, Mind.

Each of these synonyms for God includes attributes that will be useful as we rebuild our lives. Mind, for example, is the source of all wisdom and intelligence. Soul expresses beauty, Principle supports honesty.

Since Mind is infinite intelligence, we can be guided rightly to a useful job or to some other source where our needs will be met. The honesty of Principle ensures we won’t be tempted to engage in activities that could hurt others or ourselves.

Because God is Life, we can affirm that we do have the energy, vitality, and freshness to move forward and do whatever is needed to preserve life and harmony. Made by Love, each of us is loving, loved, and lovable. So our actions can be motivated by love, not by fear, ignorance, or sin.

As divine Love’s presence pervades our contacts with others, it will open doors where we can do good and help others as well as ourselves. Love heals.

We are never separated from God, although we may think we are. We are united with our divine source throughout eternity. And this eternal source does have a plan for us. As the book of Ecclesiastes tells us, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it.”

Each of us actually dwells in God, Love, and because God is infinite there isn’t a place where He is absent or a situation that can separate us from Him. There is no evil force to counteract or obstruct God’s good plan for each of us. Instead, we can affirm the presence of justice, equality, goodness, security, and holiness in our lives.

Perhaps these seem like theories or abstract concepts, especially if you have experienced any kind of loss, but praying in this way isn’t just a pleasant mental exercise. It invokes God’s power.

I have prayed my way through many difficulties, such as numerous hurricanes, starting with Betsy in New Orleans in the 1965 and Andrew, which devastated South Florida in the 1992. These same truths of God’s law protected me from damage during this past year of numerous hurricanes, including Wilma, which was most damaging to the Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach area where I live.

In the past, God also sustained me when I was a single mother, holding down sometimes three or four jobs at a time. We made it because I kept close to God, knowing His ever-present care would fill our every need—and it did. Jobs improved and salaries increased as I held to a higher understanding of my value and worth as God’s idea, of always being in my right place—that is, one with Him.

Relationships also improved through an increased awareness of belonging, of being whole. In prayer, I realized I was already complete, whole, and satisfied, here and now because God made me that way. I soon remarried after 33 years of being single.

Every day presents its challenges. The passing of my dear husband after three wonderful but short years of marriage was hard, but it taught me that God’s love is always and forever with us, providing for us and guiding us every step of the way.

Material possessions come and go. But as we grow in our understanding of God and the Science of Christianity, we realize true security and happiness aren’t in the material things we possess. It is our spiritual possessions—wisdom, truthfulness, love, goodness—that make us rich and provide for our well-being and harmony. These are ours forever.

Eternal spiritual supply:

Science and Health
115:13

King James Bible
Job 16:1,2
Job 42:2
Job 42:10
Ps. 46:1