God-Centered Stability

ONCE again I boarded an airplane confident that I had conquered the discomfort I usually felt on flights. Once again I was wrong. As we gained altitude, sudden dips and lifts seemed like a roller coaster ride, and after a few dizzying minutes I longed to rivet my feet to firm ground. What I really needed was prayer affirming that my stability was not earth-oriented but God-centered. Remembering a favorite Bible passage, I marveled at the precision with which something written centuries ago could meet my modern-day need. ``Whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.''1

To me, the psalm emphasized the absolute certainty of God's powerful, healing presence everywhere. As I held my thought resolutely to that comforting truth, I began to gain peace. The trip then became pleasant. And subsequent trips have gone well.

Prayer that reaches the heart and brings calm and healing begins with God and never leaves His loving, steadying influence. Such prayer brings stability into our lives, even though sudden changes can seem severely disorienting. The realization that our stability depends not so much on circumstances as on a perception of our relationship to God, gives us dominion over the yo-yo reaction that often accompanies the ups and downs of daily living.

Man's relationship to God as His image and likeness is firmly established in Biblical revelation. This is the absolute spiritual reality of being, which we can prove step by step in human experience. Prayer that humbly acknowledges this inseparability of God and man provides a basis from which we can face every circumstance with confidence. Such prayer goes beyond mere positive thinking and reflects the Christly power that replaces unnerving emotions, such as fear, with love and an unshakable assurance of God's direction and care.

The Bible is filled with examples of lives stabilized by reliance on God. It tells of homes established in strange lands, food and other provision proved to be ample where there was lack, character redeemed, and physical disabilities and diseases healed. Many of the problems mankind faces today were conquered centuries ago by those who kept God uppermost in thought.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, taught that great blessings flow from a steadfast effort to make unity with God and His Christ the basis of one's life. She writes, ``All must sooner or later plant themselves in Christ, the true idea of God.''2 Living in harmony with God by following, however modestly, the example of Christ Jesus, is the great stabilizer. And prayer that establishes this unity in thought every day is still the one dependable source of inspiration and healing.

As we are willing to learn of God's ever-present, omnipotent love, and to let our lives express what we are learning, we bring a balance into our days that nothing else can achieve. Christlike stability provides spiritual strength. Yearning to understand God, keeping His holy presence at the center of our thoughts and desires, and acting in harmony with the Christliness of spiritual love and peace, we bring stability into our own lives and a touch of calm to a trembling world.

1Psalms 139:7-10. 2Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 54.