Financial needs met

Sometimes a needed source of supply seems to simply vanish. Our income may disappear, or our job, or even our home, due to a situation completely beyond our control. What we are experiencing now, across the globe, is just such a time for many people.

I have been in that situation more than once in my life. Each time I turned to two books for guidance, and they have never failed me. One is the Bible, which Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, called “the chart of life, where the buoys and healing currents of Truth are pointed out.” That’s from page 24 of the textbook of Christian Science, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” which is the other book I’m referring to.

These two books speak so powerfully to me, because they contain the Word of God. They help us live what Jesus taught: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Perhaps it sounds unusual to think of words as being able to sustain us. But with the power of God, the divine Mind, underlying them, they can inspire, motivate, encourage, and change one’s way of seeing things. And when thought changes and is expanded to see beyond material limits, progress occurs.

In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defines “God” as “the great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence” (p. 587).

Combine that extraordinary definition of God with the great declaration in the first chapter of Genesis in the Bible that man is made in the image and likeness of God, and, well, that points to a significant spiritual fact: our extraordinary heritage as the beloved children of God. Every one of us! And as such, we are inherently able to discern a wisdom not our own, but infinite and divine, that is always present.

Years ago, my husband and I moved halfway around the world to work in a foreign country. It was a wonderful experience until my husband’s company pulled the plug on its operations two years later. We had no choice but to return to our home country.

But we had no home and no jobs, and significant financial obligations (both of our children were in college). Had we made a mistake in giving up everything to move abroad?

Even though the situation looked bleak, we felt a conviction that we could trust God to help us find our way out. So rather than giving in to feelings of defeat, self-pity, or fear, we turned to God, divine Mind, for His unbounded guidance and wisdom. As God’s spiritual image, every one of us expresses God’s wonderful qualities in unique ways.

This idea helped us to feel grateful for our relation to God, our infinitely loving Father and Mother, and to expect good rather than insurmountable problems. We felt ready to listen for God’s guidance on how to use our divinely inherited talents moving forward. A poem by Mrs. Eddy, which was set to music and is one of the hymns I love most in the “Christian Science Hymnal,” says:

Shepherd, show me how to go…
I will listen for Thy voice,
Lest my footsteps stray;...
(“Poems,” p. 14)

The joy of knowing that God was caring for us freed our thought to explore possibilities we’d never dreamed of. Even though we had never worked together professionally, my husband was inspired with an idea for a totally new line of work that incorporated both of our talents and experience. We were quickly able to obtain a loan to start this new venture, which seemed almost miraculous to us. For the next 20 years we continued in this work, nurturing our God-given talents and qualities, meeting our financial needs, and finding the greatest joy we had ever known.

God’s grace is not exclusive. All are embraced in divine Love. Every one of us can turn to the Word of God for guidance and supply, and trust that He will “direct [our] paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

Editor’s note: As a public service, all the Monitor’s coronavirus coverage is free, including articles from this column. There’s also a special free section of JSH-Online.com on a healing response to the global pandemic. There is no paywall for any of this coverage.