Answering Job's lament

When facing a major decision or need, perhaps we have echoed Job's lament: ''Oh that I knew where I might find him! . . . I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him.'' n1

n1 Job 23:3,8.

''Why,'' we may ask, ''can't I, and humanity generally, find God and be freed from the pressures of indecision and from the bad effects of wrong decisions?'' The reason may be that we are looking the wrong way and in the wrong direction. Looking back into past experiences or listening to the advice of well-meaning friends or of experts in specific fields may sometimes be useful. Yet we are still looking where we've been looking all the time - into the human, the material, instead of the spiritual. No wonder we can't find Him.

But we do find Him if we follow the instruction of our Master, Christ Jesus. He wasn't at a loss to know the next and right step. He exercised a scientific control over doubt and fear. They are no part of God's creation and therefore could never interrupt or confuse Jesus' God-directed mission.

He left for us some very practical advice whereby we too can be guided rightly. For example, ''Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'' n2 What is the truth we are to know? That God's creation, including man, is, as the Scriptures tell us, ''very good''; that God governs every aspect of man's being in eternal harmony. Anything, then, that is not good cannot be part of God's creation or of His provision for man. All good, and only good, comes from God, from Spirit.

n2 John 8:32.

''But,'' one might reasonably ask, ''as my human needs such as food, clothing , and shelter, are material, how can these needs be met by looking to Spirit, the antithesis of matter?''

Christian Science shows us, and helps us prove, that our human needs are not as material as they appear to be. It helps us to stop believing the lie that divine Spirit has made a physical, destructible man with unsatisfied material needs. If God is Spirit, infinite good, His creation must be spiritual, expressing His nature. It must be complete, forever reflecting limitless good; and the ''knowing'' of this truth brings harmony and order to our lives.

The human need for the things that are seen is satisfied by going much deeper - into the realm of the things of God that are not seen. Understanding this, we will be less persuaded by Job's lament and more responsive to divine direction and control. After referring to God's allness and omnipresence, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes: ''Now this self-same God is our helper. He pities us. He has mercy upon us, and guides every event of our careers.'' n3 So guided, our experience will be directed into channels that are rewarding and enriching.

n3 Unity of Good, pp. 3-4.

God's intelligent government is the spiritual fact of our being now. We need only awake to and acknowledge His perfect care, and live in accord with His law, in order to consistently experience His harmonious control. God is ceaselessly imparting to us all the intelligence and direction we need.

The ''still, small voice'' of spiritual intuition and inspiration, when responded to, is translated into scientific conviction and demonstration. Even a small understanding of God's government gives us this conviction and banishes doubt and confusion. The confusing clamor of many minds, many possibilities, many solutions, falls silent. Job's lament ''Oh that I knew where I might find him!'' is answered. DAILY BIBLE VERSE The Lord will lighten my darkness. II Samuel 22:29m