God's Law

HAVE you ever felt as if you were caught in a situation over which you had no control? I know I have. But we can take heart. There is a way out. We can turn to the law of God, which is always in control of His creation.

The Bible tells us that God is omnipotent, all-powerful. The book of Deuteronomy says of God: "He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. This concept of God as a "Rock has been very helpful to me in understanding that God is Principle, the Lawmaker. From Him comes all true law.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, speaks of God as Mind when she writes, "All that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire being is found harmonious and eternal. Have you ever thought of Mind's "idea as man, spiritual and perfect, as the true identity of each one of us? Mrs. Eddy continues by showing us how we can avail ourselves of God's power. She says, "The straight and narrow way is to

see and acknowledge this fact, yield to this power, and follow the leadings of truth.

When we're humbly willing to listen for God's leadings, we don't willfully force our way to a solution. God's law is the only true law, and as we're honest enough to be obedient to it, we can expect to see greater harmony in our lives.

Something that happened several years ago illustrates this. I began a new job as a reading teacher to high-school dropouts. As soon as I opened the door on my first day, I found myself in a haze! All the students were smoking. I'm a nonsmoker, and to me the room was stifling. The other teachers also felt helpless. They had been told by the administration that because these were adults, we couldn't tell them what to do.

I went home that evening feeling pretty discouraged. I needed a job, but I didn't know how I would live with the close atmosphere day after day. Then I decided to pray. I didn't pray simply to have my own way, though; I really wanted to see God's role in all this.

As I prayed, the idea of God as Principle kept coming to me. With Principle come rules, I reasoned. Although the young people had dropped out of school, they now were being prepared to go into regular jobs. Surely there would be rules at their workplaces. I felt a growing love for the students as I prayed.

I remembered a passage from the Bible that made a lot of sense to me. It's in I Corinthians, where Paul says: "There are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. I really pondered this statement, until I felt at peace.

This peace that comes when we pray is actually Christ, God's very presence, His self-expression. When we pray, we commune with God. We yield to His divine will. This is how Christ Jesus prayed. He was always in close communion with God, praying to see God's law in operation.

On Monday morning I wasn't looking forward to going back to that classroom. So I prayed once again to know that God, divine Mind, is always in charge. Just thirty minutes after classes began, the coordinator walked into my room. "Starting tomorrow, she announced, "there will be smoking only during breaks.

The students accepted the rule without comment. The problem, which had looked so hopeless only days before, simply dissipated. And the change in the atmosphere made learning and teaching easier! I was filled with gratitude that continues to this day--knowing that God is in charge and that we can see God's law in operation as we humbly yield to it.