God Is Near
One time when I was feeling a bit lost and unsure of my direction, I found myself thinking, "God, do You love me?"
I recognized these words as being similar to ones from a song sung by Barbra Streisand in the movie "Yentl." After the death of her beloved father, she wondered in the song whether he still heard her, whether he was near her and thought about her. He was the only one she felt had truly understood her. She hoped that somehow he could still help her not be frightened, as he had done when she was a child.
This reminded me of God, our omnipresent Father, the Father to whom I have turned again and again in time of need. We all sometimes wish we could put our hand once again into the hand of a loving parent who would wipe away our tears and take care of all our needs.
Because God is always with us, no matter where we are, we have reason to feel confident that we will always have Him to turn to for direction and help, in both the good times and in times of trouble. God always understands us because we are His children. No one knows us more intimately than He who knows us as the eternal expression of His perfection.
Picturing God as a huge, anthropomorphic being is not what I am speaking of here. Christian Science, discovered by Mary Baker Eddy, reveals God to be divine Love, omnipotent Mind, ever-present Life, infinite Spirit. God has created us in His spiritual image, forever one with Him.
God is all-power. But that almightiness is not to be found in physicality. It is perceived with the spiritual senses, and it is only through these God-given senses that we can know God. The textbook of Christian Science says, "Spiritual sense is a conscious, constant capacity to understand God" (Mary Baker Eddy, "Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures," Pg. 209).
I have felt God's presence many times in my life. When I have humbly prayed for His guidance - with a total willingness to lay down all my human predispositions - I have found myself directed in ways that have blessed not only me but others as well.
I've learned that I can trust God with my life. In fact, the Science of Christ has taught me that God is my Life! So, turning to God in times of physical distress is trustworthy. In fact, it is turning to the perfect Life that knows no illness or death.
I remember a time when I was driving alone in a car, surrounded by heavy traffic. I felt I was about to lose consciousness and feared for my life. There was no way to get off the road at that point, and no one I could turn to for immediate aid.
In my great distress, I remember saying, as if speaking to a loving father, "But, I am Your daughter." I knew God would never deprive His daughter of anything needful, and that He had created me spiritually, reflective of Him, wholly complete. I felt God's presence at that point. And I was instantly, completely, healed of disturbing physical symptoms that had been distressing me for some months.
What an immediate comfort it was (and is) to turn to God in time of trouble and receive the help I needed. It was more than humanly reassuring. It brought total freedom and healing. I was able to drive by myself and to go from one busy activity to another the rest of that day. In that experience, my turning to God had so removed the fear from my thoughts that I did not even mention the incident to family members I saw that day.
The same ability to turn to God is instantly available to you, right now. "The 'divine ear' is not an auditory nerve. It is the all-hearing and all-knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is always known and by whom it will be supplied" (Science and Health, Pg. 7).
The Bible assures us, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Ps. 46:1). Now, when I feel like saying out loud or questioning within, "Father, do you hear me?" I know for a fact that He does!
Draw nigh to God,
and he will draw
nigh to you.
James 4:8
