Security amid the banking crisis
He wasn't anticipating all the rattled nerves that today's banking crisis has triggered. He'd never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac – the twin rival corporations so important to the stability of the banking industry and so vulnerable to ongoing troubles in the US housing market. But the author of the book of Job in the Bible offers real comfort. In the briefest of passages the book gives this far-reaching assurance: "Thou shalt be secure, because there is hope" (Job 11:18).
Rather than speeding right past that, or dismissing it as quaint idealism, it's worth a few moments of consideration. The Bible is as plain as it could be both on the promise and on the rock-solid fact underpinning that promise. The promise? You shall be secure. The underpinning to that promise? There is hope. The spiritual reasoning here goes deep. A superficial reading – an assessment only of physical data, balance sheets, expectations of the stock market, and the mood of the banking industry – simply isn't comprehensive enough and might wrongly dismiss the power of God-derived hope.
But look deeper. There are profound spiritual facts that need to be reckoned with. Take those facts into account, and the prognosis grows brighter. There is hope because there is a heavenly Father who cares for you. There is hope because this heavenly Father is also the divine Principle of the universe and maintains order throughout this universe. There is hope because the Father's care is tangible and practical and keeps His creation in perfect balance – without excess and definitely without deficiency. There is hope because there is the certainty of good that His presence and power bring to our lives. There is hope because this Principle governs everything there is to govern, down to the smallest details. There is hope because this Principle, God, provides us with His Science, His law. And His Science maintains the productivity of even the largest aspects of creation.
And because there is hope, "thou shalt be secure." This is a promise that has scientific certainty to it. The Almighty Himself backs it. That's more reliable backing than even the very solid support the Fed may give to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy discovered the divine Science of God – what Christ Jesus spoke of as the Comforter, or Spirit of truth. She wrote in her primary work on Christian Science, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Security for the claims of harmonious and eternal being is found only in divine Science" (p. 232). And because this Science and the hope it offers exists everywhere, the security we need is universally available.
These spiritual facts have a practical effect and can bring security and stability to the banking crisis. But it's not quite enough for these facts to be true. In order for us to feel their effect in our lives, they have to be realized in prayer as true. They must be known with spiritual conviction as true. Then it is enough. Taking some moments to affirm the presence and power of Principle and the security-enhancing operation of divine Science has a problem-solving impact. The spiritual fact of hope-based security begins to show up in daily life. Then not just the person praying, but society as a whole, is benefited.
The Bible speaks of "the carnal mind" – a supposititious mentality committed to an ultimately hopeless view of life. This carnal mind tries to crowd out hope by sowing doubt and uncertainty into humanity's outlook. The good news? The hope that springs from knowing the Divine can't be crowded out. So, nothing the carnal mind can do will ever undo divinely based security. God's security is woven through His creation. That means stability and security are on hand throughout your life. You can affirm that to be true even before you see the evidence of its truth. As you do so, your own life will grow steadier. And your prayers will also help put the banking industry on firmer ground.
Be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Psalms 31:24
