Several years ago, I felt depressed and alone. I didn’t want my boyfriend at the time to leave my side (which of course added strain to the relationship). But one night when he had other plans, I was left alone wallowing in this deep depression.
I sat in bed crying and crying. I couldn’t go to sleep or do anything else, it seemed. I reached out in prayer (I had just been learning how to pray, although this was going to be a simple and desperate prayer).
“God, help me”.
The next moment I heard these words “you don’t have to be tempted by this.”
Well, in that instant, a light went on in consciousness. I was completely healed. I rolled over and went to sleep.
What I learned in that moment was this: thoughts of negativity (sadness, hatred, depression, etc) are unsolicited thoughts. They exist outside of us and are never within us. We can defeat them by simply recognizing who we are as the spiritual, beloved children of God.
Even though these negative thoughts seem to be prevalent, they have no actual power or life because they don’t originate in God, good (the only, true power). Through God’s help you can defeat them, like I was able to do in that moment of clarity.
Do you have an experience of spiritual, mental clarity that is meaningful to you that you’d like to share?
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NKJV)
As I was praying this morning, I had an image in thought of my light shining and God saying, “You are valuable, you are needed, you are making a difference.” Ahhh, how reassuring! Thank you, Father 🙂
This inspired me to write a blog because so often we may wonder if we even have a light to shine! I know I wonder this at times.
Jesus makes the presumption that we all have a light to shine in this statement. He doesn’t say: “If you have a light…”or “If you are one of the lucky ones that God created to have a light, then let it shine.” No.
Christ Jesus message is that each of us has a light – forever – regardless of our human circumstances. His message was a universal one. He chose for his disciples (students) regular, common men – fishermen. These men didn’t have various degrees or a prestigious place in society. One Bible translation describes these men as “unlearned”. And he left these men (and women) to establish a church!
Doesn’t this show us that wherever we are in life – employment status, marital status, education status – that we all have a light to shine. A 3-year-old has this light. A 90-year-old has this light. A 30-year-old and a 50-year-old have this light. This light comes from God so it is divine, perfect, lovely and has a transforming effect on the situations around us.
This light doesn’t decay, wear out, or die. It is an eternal light within each of us that defies time, space or any other material limitations. It exemplifies our oneness with Deity.
So have fun letting your light shine today. We now all know you have one! 🙂
I was reminded by a post on a discussion forum of the normal childlikeness that has been restored to me through my study of Christian Science.
One of Jesus Christ’s radical acts and statements is to be childlike.
This may seem contrary to what the world tells us about needing to be cynical, judgemental, analytical and critical. I haven’t met many children expressing those qualities! Have you? 🙂 So isn’t Jesus telling us that childlike qualities are a natural part of adults (politicians, school teachers, Olympians), too?
In my practice of Christian Science healing, I see children have such quick physical and emotional healings. They are so receptive and quick to change their thinking from bad to good about any situation. They have such an inherent sense of the goodness of the universe, before they are taught otherwise, that tells them that goodness is natural to their experience.
“Children should be allowed to remain children in knowledge, and should become men and women only through growth in the understanding of man’s higher nature.” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 62)
Some teenagers fall into the temptation of depression, cynicism and despair. It seems like the light, innocence and happiness disappear from their experience.
But my own experience has taught me that those spiritual attributes – the spiritual sense of being which involves hope, faith and love – are never lost. It’s like a dark cloud is covering up these beautiful qualities, but, just like the sun, these natural good qualities are still there, always shining brightly even if we can’t see them for the moment.
I re-discovered my relationship with God and what it means to be a child made in the image and likeness of my Father/Mother God in my twenties. There was a lot of darkness that had taken root in my thought in my teens and had lasted for several years. The darkness would mock the light shining around me and continue to hide in its false self-perpetuated existence.
God had always told me there was another way, and, finally, a deeper sense that I had the right to be free as God’s child broke through. I was inspired to read the 4 gospels in the New Testament straight through, which I hadn’t done before, along with Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. I admired the fearlessness of Jesus Christ, and I wanted that fearlessness for my own life, too. And I was comforted to read from the discover and founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, that the works that Jesus did and taught others, which enable one to be fearless, are still possible and happening today.
She echoes the Biblical sentiment here: “Christian scientific practice begins with Christ’s keynote of harmony, ‘Be not afraid!'”
What a relief! Through consistent spiritual study of the Bible and the texts of Christian Science, the darkness vanished from my thought.
When the light shines in our consciousness, the darkness disappears. I know we have all seen examples of this in our experience. I’m just so grateful that this Truth is true. 🙂
Spirituality & Healing 