Feel a spirit of love and peace, not fear
A friend of mine was often critical of her adult son’s well-intended actions. But her thought changed when her son had to quarantine in another country for an unknown amount of time. Through quiet moments of prayer, she realized she needed to drop her focus on her own opinions and disappointments. Instead, she cherished how much they loved each other.
She felt what many others have felt, too: a spirit of love that wakes us up to see what is fundamental and substantial in our lives.
Christian Science, based on the Bible, explains that God, divine Spirit, is infinite Love itself. Divine Spirit is always active, and this spiritual reality gives us the ability to stand up to anxiety about troubling news reports or whatever else may be going on in our lives.
There’s a verse in the Bible that makes me feel as though I’m wrapped up in a warm blanket of comfort and assurance. It’s from Second Timothy: “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (1:7). In one short citation, we learn that God has nothing to do with fear, chaos, and uncertainty. Rather, God has given to us the energy, stability, and intelligence to address crises of any type, large or small.
Amid growing concerns about the coronavirus, questions about the state of democracy, and apprehension about climate change, to only mention a few, I’ve found this reminder empowering: God is the infinite source of intelligence and love that can never wane.
Many thought leaders note a social and global recalibration going on now that is shaping our future. Yet there’s also a deeper, quieter, mental renovation we can all take part in. At its core is a powerful spiritual stillness.
The Bible talks about the “still small voice” of God that comforts and leads us (I Kings 19:12). This stillness is referenced in “Retrospection and Introspection” by Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science: “The best spiritual type of Christly method for uplifting human thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength; and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action” (p. 93).
Even when the noise of human drama seems overwhelming, we can take quiet moments in prayer to get to a deeper understanding of God as omnipresent and all-powerful Love, and to claim God’s gifts of power, love, and mental soundness, including freedom from fear. And in these precious times of yielding to divine Love, what is most essential – the goodness and peace that are naturally ours as God’s children – comes to the surface.
We can find calm in the face of crisis. God, Love, hasn’t given us the spirit of fear – fear is not of God. Infinite Love’s ideas are constantly flowing to us to remove hopelessness and empower us with the wisdom and love to find our way forward.
Generosity, wisdom, discernment, and love have become the counter-narrative to the concerns of today. Insistent and consistent, such qualities will keep rising up and replacing fear and uncertainty in proportion as we continue to rely on the spirit of “power, and of love, and of a sound mind” that God has given us all.
