"How is it that ye have no faith?" ^{Mark 4:40;} Jesus asked his disciples when they were afraid for their lives aboard a boat on a storm-tossed sea. This penetrating question is just as important now. Which is more real to us, matter or Spirit?

Christ Jesus was able to calm the sea and the violent winds because he had a deep spiritual understanding of God and man's relationship to Him. To the Master this was not a miracle but a natural manifestation of God's care for His children.

Time and again Jesus proved by his healings that God is perfect—totally good, wholly loving, omnipresent. Man, as God's image, can express only God's qualities, including goodness, completeness, and intelligence. Good can produce only good.

In his healing works Jesus dismissed the material evidence on the basis that God, divine Spirit, is the only creator and His creation is wholly spiritual and perfect. He knew that the entire mortal picture is a lie. By seeing the fallacy of a material predicament and rejoicing in the truth of creation, Jesus was able to correct the difficulty. As our understanding of God increases and our faith in the perfection of His universe is strengthened, we too will rise in the power of Truth and prove Spirit's allness and the absolute nothingness of matter and evil.

How do we develop the faith for which Jesus calls? Mrs. Eddy says in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, "The Principle and proof of Christianity are discerned by spiritual sense." ^{Science and Health, p. 210;} We need to nurture our spiritual intuitions, letting thought dwell on them. Spiritual sense needs to be cherished and cultivated so that we can grow into an understanding of God's perfection and man's unity with Him.

It is this spiritual understanding that imparts the only real power, God's power. As our comprehension of God's love and allness grows, so will our faith in His affluence increase, and we will see more evidence of His care.

Looking to matter is no help to us, for it lies. It would attempt to draw us away from the truth. Our only course is to hold to God's goodness and trust in His law. Mrs. Eddy states, "All Truth is from inspiration and revelation,—from Spirit, not from flesh." ^{Unity of Good, p. 46;}

Elijah had a strong faith in God. Matter, with all its tricks, could not long deceive him. God revealed to him that the earthquake, the wind, and the fire have no truth or power. Divine inspiration enabled the prophet to rely on a power beyond the human scene, a power that spoke to him in "a still small voice," ^{I Kings 19:12;} revealing God's allness and directing him.

It is important that we act with the same trustfulness and trustworthiness. We must not try to depend on both Spirit and matter. In the Christian Science textbook we read: "It is not wise to take a halting and half-way position or to expect to work equally with Spirit and matter, Truth and error. There is but one way—namely, God and His idea—which leads to spiritual being." ^{Science and Health, p. 167;} Through steadfast trust in God alone and in His unfailing care of His offspring we too can become aware of a strong guiding force in our lives.

As a camp counselor I often had experiences that tested and proved God's care of His children. At one time I was in charge of a white-water canoe trip down a remote river. On the third day of the trip, after a full day's paddling, we arrived late in the evening at our planned campsite only to find it taken by another party. The guidebooks and maps indicated there were no other campsites downstream because both sides of the river were swampland. I felt frustrated and confused.

A short distance upstream was a possible camping spot, but it turned out to be quite poor, because we could not cook or take proper care of the canoes. Right then I prayed to rid myself of the thoughts that were saying God was not caring for us. I knew I had to stop believing that the outflow of His good could be limited, have more faith in His ability to meet every need, and trust His direction. Letting God guide, we continued on and found a man who told us about a site farther down the river. It proved to be a beautiful one, much better than any we had previously used on our trip.

This demonstration has nurtured my faith in God's ever-present care and in Jesus' remarkable statement on the power of faith, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." ^{Luke 17:6.}