God's guidance and the right way to help

DRIVING down the freeway one afternoon, I saw a car on the narrow center divider ahead, still partially in traffic. I began to pray, reminding myself that we all are protected by God's love. I also prayed to know whether I should stop or not-and felt compelled to do so. Quickly pulling off the road, I discovered the driver of the disabled car was a woman I know, going to the same meeting that I was going to. I prayed to be alert, and to be guided to do what was right. My prayers gave me a calm trust, freed me from fear, and helped me act more quickly.

The car had a flat tire, so I drove it completely out of traffic. Then I began to change the tire while the woman waved a bright object farther down the road to warn approaching motorists. A man soon came along and expressed great concern about what I was doing. We quickly reviewed possible alternative actions but couldn't agree on anything.

I continued praying, reassured that God's will is always for healing and safety. I prayed with the assurance that all of us there really had one Mind, one God, and therefore we could work together in harmony. Just as the other man changed his viewpoint, a Highway Patrol man drove up behind us with his lights flashing. Within minutes, the tire was changed and we were all on our way safely.

At another time, even under the same conditions, it might have been wrong to change that tire or even to stop there at all. We can always be guided by God, through prayer, to know what is necessary and correct, and to avoid being blinded by fear or a reckless sense of heroics.

This is not to say that just because a person prays, he will never make mistakes. Certainly, on the freeway people must be absolutely convinced that what they are doing is lawful and right, and must take every precaution dictated by wisdom for their own and others' safety. But it is possible for us to be guided by divine wisdom, which is always right.

A well-known psalm gives us this reassurance: ''Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.''n1 Jesus' understanding of this divine law did not involve tempting the Lord (see Matthew 4:5-7), but it also did not stop him from helping his fellowman wisely, as God guided him, even in the face of adversity or danger.

n1 Psalms 91:9-11

Accident, random evil, death, are no part of God's absolute law. They're no part of His creation, which is spiritual and entirely good. They're fraudulent phenomena of mortal thought, not divine reality. God's angels reveal this to us and give us the victory.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Mary Baker Eddy n2 defines ''angels'' as ''God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.''n3 These angels make us more cognizant of God's unerring guidance. We might say they bring us into accord with divine law , enabling us to act and heal with greater spiritual authority. They give us the direction we need in order to be in the right place at the right time-on the freeway or anywhere else.

n2 The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.

n3 Science and Health, p. 581

We cultivate the spiritual sense that's receptive to angels through prayer and purity of thought; through acknowledging God as the one true source of our thoughts, the only Mind. The more we pay attention to angels and adhere to God's laws, the less we will fear and the more able we will be to aid our fellowman. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice.... For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. Psalms 5:11, 12