Energy that doesn’t run out
Around 800,000 of my fellow Californians were left in the dark recently. Their power was turned off in an effort to prevent sparks caused by downed power lines during severe wind conditions, which can lead to wildfires.
The potential challenges of a lengthy blackout led me to think more deeply about the concept of energy. There are many different ways we can think about it. For example, energy is something that exists naturally. Humanity has learned to harness some of these forces in useful ways that end up running our cars and lighting our homes. Energy is also used in, for instance, running a marathon.
But is there something beyond what we see that could be recognized as an ultimate, and even unlimited, source of energy?
From my study of Christian Science, I’ve learned that God is the creator and sustainer of His universe. Clearly, this activity involves energy. Because God is infinite, His energy must also be unlimited. Understanding this fact can be helpful in our daily lives. It enables us to see evidence of divine energy in operation, both in our individual lives and in larger ways.
Several decades ago there was a severe energy crisis. It took the form of limited availability of petroleum products, specifically gas and oil. There were long lines at gas stations, and thermostats were turned down in commercial buildings in order to conserve fuel. Many people, myself included, were praying for a solution.
During this time I was struggling with an energy challenge of my own: chronic fatigue. I felt exhausted all the time. One night I couldn’t sleep, and I found myself praying about the energy crisis. I reasoned that divine energy had to be infinite, since God is infinite. And since God is Spirit, energy couldn’t be limited to anything physical, such as what comes out of the ground.
It was a sudden moment of realization. I felt a sense of confidence, almost buoyancy, in recognizing that true energy was unlimited, actually infinite. I felt the promise in what Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this publication, stated in her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”: “Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy” (p. 249).
At its core, energy isn’t confined to physical resources, which are limited. Rather, its source is God, unlimited Spirit. As God’s creation, we too express freedom from limitation. And we have the right and ability to experience this spiritual fact in our daily lives.
The next morning I awoke full of energy. The chronic fatigue never returned. And although I certainly don’t claim credit for it, the larger energy crisis was soon over, too. To me these encouraging outcomes pointed to the underlying spiritual reality of illimitable energy.
In times of an energy crunch of any type, we can count on the spiritual fact that, ultimately, energy has its source in God, Spirit. With this inspiring our prayers, we can trust that God will help us see that our needs can be met, step by step, in ways small and large.
