Don't limit yourself
WHEN God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, telling him that He would send him to Pharaoh to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses doubted his ability to carry out the task. Even after God promised that He would perform signs before the Egyptians, Moses said, ``But I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.'' God replied, ``Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.''1 Moses' first reaction was to limit himself. How often are we tempted to do the same? The human mind, taking a limited view of things, might suggest that we cannot do whatever we are required to do. It would admit that we have ability but would also claim that we can be restricted by age, race, background, lack of qualifications, poverty, and so forth.
Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes of her discovery, ``Science reveals the possibility of achieving all good, and sets mortals at work to discover what God has already done; but distrust of one's ability to gain the goodness desired and to bring out better and higher results, often hampers the trial of one's wings and ensures failure at the outset.''2
The achievement of good is always a possibility because our true selfhood is God's spiritual likeness, the very image of infinite good. We have, then, the ability to express the capacities and qualities of the divine nature, which enable us to serve Him and bless our fellow beings. The Bible represents God as saying, ``This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.''3
``Distrust of one's ability'' comes from the commonly accepted view of man as a flawed mortal, living apart from his creator, subject to circumstances and to the actions of other mortals. But this is a distorted, material sense of things, not the reality established by God. We can look away from a false, material sense and turn to God in prayer for an accurate view of our identity and capabilities. To realize in prayer that we express the divine nature and are governed totally by the one divine Mind is to overcome the possibility of ``failure at the outset.'' His will for us is only good, and He supplies us with all the intelligence and discernment we need. When we humbly trust in our spiritual relationship to God and discern it in prayer, we won't feel separate from His help and guidance.
A spiritually receptive thought is open to fresh, new ideas, and they come to us in practical ways. God's wisdom is unlimited. There are no obstacles to the divine Mind. As we humbly open our thought to Mind's direction, limitations that may have seemed solid can begin to fade away. They are impositions that are powerless to interfere with God's government. God is impelling each of us to express Him in a valuable and individual way. We are all essential to the full expression of His nature.
It's obvious that Christ Jesus didn't accept limitation, as his unparalleled career and healing work clearly show. His words indicate that he was always conscious of God's government and of his unbroken relationship to Him. And he understood that everyone is, in truth, inseparable from the creator's perfect care. He healed a man who had waited by a pool for thirty-eight years for a material cure. He uplifted a woman who had been bowed down for eighteen years with an infirmity. His works all brought to light something of man's indestructible spiritual nature as God's likeness.
I had to deal with feelings of limitation when I tried to return to my profession after staying at home for fifteen years raising children. My first seven job applications did not even get acknowledged. I believed this was because I had been out of the profession too long and was unfamiliar with new methods. I turned to God in prayer and sought His guidance. I acknowledged God as my only employer. The answer came quite forcefully that in a sense I had never left my employment; bringing up children and homemaking were important work too. Therefore I could not be penalized. The self-imposed sense of limitation fell away. The next day I saw an advertisement for someone with my qualifications, answered it, and got the job.
Mrs. Eddy says, ``Each successive stage of experience unfolds new views of divine goodness and love.''4 We can prove the truth of this statement in our own lives.
1Exodus 4:10, 12. 2Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 260. 3Isaiah 43:21. 4Science and Health, p. 66.
You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine. DAILY BIBLE VERSE: Delight thyself...in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalms 37:4
