School, Pressure, And Dominion
ONCE when I was in college, something happened that caused me to miss my classes for about a week. And the week I missed happened to be the week before midterm examinations. Normally, I spent the week before these tests in intense study of course material. But the same thing that had kept me out of my classes had kept me from studying, as well. So, there I was--because of something I couldn't avoid, I had only a short time to study for these important tests.
I felt like a victim of circumstances. I needed to find dominion- -dominion over the tests, over time, and especially over my fear that I would fail. As I began to pray, I reasoned something like this: Intelligence is something so much more than atoms, molecules, organic compounds, and electricity assembled in a brain. There is a singular intelligence--the divine Mind--that exists continuously, determining creation, maintaining its universe, and expressing itself as spiritual man. Man is the offspring of God, divine Mind, and therefore doesn't rely on matter but on God for intelligence. I needed to recognize that intelligence has its origin in Mind-- divine Mind--and that this source is unlimited and available to everyone.
Prayer isn't a substitute for study or something I could use to avoid attending classes. In this case it had been impossible for me to do either, but I knew I could trust God to help me. In the short time left before the examinations, I prayed wholeheartedly, asking God to show me what particular things I needed to study. I listened for God's direction, and studied this way right up to the last moments before the tests. I actually felt calm.
Later, I learned that my test results were better than ever! To me, this was an example of a statement written by the Founder of the Christian Science Church, Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. She says: ``Mind is not necessarily dependent upon educational processes. It possesses of itself all beauty and poetry, and the power of expressing them. Spirit, God, is heard when the senses are silent'' (p. 89). As the creation of God, or infinite Mind, we all have the ability to express intelligence. This spiritual viewpoint shows that true intellectual capacity is found in divine Mind, God. This means that our cognitive ability is a result of our reflection of the substance of divine intelligence, and nothing less.
It is logical to recognize that there is a unifying intelligence determining the texture of the universe, governing the expression of its creation, spiritual man. This intelligence is divine Mind. Schools and universities, as well as the scenes in daily life, make wonderful laboratories for proving and demonstrating these facts. Practical application helps you to know God, to feel His nearness and His availability to each of us as divine Mind, and to understand Him as your sole source of true intelligence.
``My Father worketh hitherto, and I work'' (John 5:17) are words that Christ Jesus used to help explain how he looked to God for ability and wisdom. The intelligence of God, of divine Mind, already exists. Man does not create or accumulate it; he reflects it. Man's intelligence, the substantial truths of divine Mind, is unfolded as God expresses Himself in man. Knowing this results in dominion over pressures and fears.
No matter how you're challenged, you, too, can know that your ``Father worketh hitherto,'' and you work. Admitting God as your true source of being and intelligence brings poise and confidence in your life.
