Stability in Christ
Out of all the discouraging news and perhaps difficult personal circumstances we encounter, how is it that we can move forward and not feel shaken by all that is going on? How can we remain steady when the world around us appears volatile and frightening? Through difficult and even violent times, many have not only found stability, but also salvation, through Christ. What is this stabilizing power?
The Christ is often described as the very presence of God’s love for us. This divine message, and its power, was fully expressed in Christ Jesus. In fact, Jesus is consummate proof that the love of God reaches us (see John 3:16). Healing the sick, the dying, the insane, and raising the dead to life, Jesus proved to us that the divine touches our lives.
The Christ, as the spiritual idea of God, has always been present. Referring to the eternal nature of Christ, St. Paul called Christ the Rock that saved Moses and the children of Israel (see I Corinthians 10:4). Even after Jesus, the healing power of Christ continued and still continues to exist. It is the action of Truth within human consciousness. This spiritual force, or divine energy, transforms how we perceive both God and ourselves. The power of Christ is a correcting influence, informing us of our spiritual identity as children of the perfect God. It moves through every receptive heart, causing us to feel its healing impact.
Understanding Christ, Truth, as the eternal message of God, forever reaching us to steady and comfort us, Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, included these lines in her poem “Christ My Refuge”:
And o’er earth’s troubled, angry sea
I see Christ walk,
And come to me, and tenderly,
Divinely talk.Thus Truth engrounds me on the rock,
Upon Life’s shore,
’Gainst which the winds and waves can shock,
Oh, nevermore!" [“Pulpit and Press” p. 18]
Although sometimes shocking events confront us, Christ empowers us with unshakable courage to overcome challenges to our well-being and progress. The Christ dissolves our fears because it opens our thought to the power of God, good, expressed within us. Through Christ we understand that, as the reflection, or image, of God, we express divine wisdom and intelligence. This intelligence equips us with what we need to know to keep us safe in the midst of chaos or confusion. In this way, God not only steadies us through difficulties but also shields us from harm.
This recognition of God’s sheltering love and protection comes through prayer and our receptivity to the message of Christ. The Psalmist, David, must have felt the inspiration of the Christ when he wrote of the power of God to steady us in uncertain times, “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock” (Psalms 27:5).
Within our earnest prayers we hear the Christ tenderly calling to us. It lifts us above whatever storms we encounter to see and experience the power of God with us, guiding us safely and firmly forward in our lives.
