Daily provision

We were having a pretty rough time financially. We were newlyweds, and supply just did not meet demand. I hadn't realized until then how safely I had been nestled under the family wing. Not that I was sheltered from or unaware of the family's financial problems, but I'd had my parents' help in turning my thought more readily to God as our provider.

Now I was out of the protective family nest and had to stand on my own two feet. I stood with God and the truths I had learned about Him from childhood.

I reasoned that because the problem was lack, that was the concept to zero in on in praying to God. Suddenly, though, like the proverbial bolt from the blue, I realized my approach to the problem was wrong in this instance.

New ideas that were startling to me - but may have been quite obvious to others - came to thought. For instance, I began to consider the word ''affluence ,'' and this opened up a whole new view of supply. I thought about what I had rather than what I didn't have. I thanked my heavenly Father for an understanding of Him as the one God who loves us all; thanked Him for being Life that is eternal and Love that is boundless. I was grateful for family, home, church, friends, for the moon, the stars, and the sun. I did a complete about-face, thanking Him constantly and consistently. As a result, I began to feel more joyful and free.

The Bible was a constant source of inspiration, with its proofs of God's care for His children throughout the ages. A prime example is the story of Moses, who led the children of Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land. From the start, Moses had God's assurance that He would be with him. And indeed, the Israelites saw proof after proof, through periods of trial and doubt and rebellion, that there is just one God, who cares for all the needs of His offspring.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, ''Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment.'' n1 God, Love, is providing for all of us now just as He did for the children of Israel. The spiritual reality of our being is that we're forever sustained by our creator, forever maintained in perfect harmony. Our need is to trust that fact and to be loyal to the one God, to pure Spirit, in thought and deed.

n1 Miscellaneous Writings, P. 307.

When faced with a hungry multitude, Christ Jesus proved Spirit's resources to be unlimited and immediately available. Rather than send the disciples or the people scurrying to the nearest town to find food, he used the few loaves and fishes that were available, and looked up to heaven and blessed them. He thanked God for what was at hand, and it multiplied. Not only was the multitude fed, but there were twelve basketfuls left over. n2

n2 See Matthew 14:15-21.

During this challenging time in my life, hymns were also a source of inspiration. Sometimes just bits of verses would come to me and were a great comfort. ''Day by day the manna fell''; ''Green pastures are before me,/Which yet I have not seen''; and, ''God is every need supplying,/All, all is well.'' n 3 I considered these verses and specifically applied them to my situation. When the words ''Day by day the manna fell'' came to me I would think about the story of Moses and apply its lessons in my own life. I learned to be grateful for the good of each day.

n3 Christian Science Hymnal, Nos. 46, 148, 350.

It wasn't easy to silence fears about the future, but I knew that the pasture would soon be green, not dark and brown under a wintry blanket of fear. It was a learning, learning, learning process. Through it I proved that God is ''every need supplying,'' and that all is truly well when we lean on Him.

The Bible refers to God as ''him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.'' n4 This is cause for unending gratitude!

n4 Ephesians 3:20.

DAILY BIBLE VERSE I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalms 69:30