The spiritual safety that is ours

A sense of safety and security may seem hard to come by these days. Reports of accidents, hazardous weather, and violence bombard the senses. Is there a spiritual remedy for us to feel and experience safety wherever we are?

Yes, referring to cultivating the Christly qualities Jesus exuded, such as meekness, mercy, and love, Christian Science expounds, “Thus founded upon the rock of Christ, when storm and tempest beat against this sure foundation, you, safely sheltered in the strong tower of hope, faith, and Love, are God’s nestlings; and He will hide you in His feathers till the storm has passed” (Mary Baker Eddy, “Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896,” p. 152)

Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered the divine laws of God and named them Christian Science, wrote of this safety, as Christ Jesus practiced it, “Jesus demonstrated the inability of corporeality, as well as the infinite ability of Spirit, thus helping erring human sense to flee from its own convictions and seek safety in divine Science” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 494).

This Science includes the paramount understanding that God tenderly guides and protects all of His creation – because God is divine Love and man is God’s reflection. This knowledge opens thought to the scientific fact that God is forever enveloping, embracing, and encompassing each of us in His love no matter what!

Safety is therefore not predicated on “perfect” material conditions but on the ever-presence of God, divine Love, and with this realization comes the confidence that man is always above the threat of destruction. When this is understood, the human conviction in danger dissipates.

Christ Jesus taught that man has an indestructible relationship with God, just as he proved for his own life. This was his oneness with God. Jesus demonstrated that God, whom he called Father, was his Life, and he evidenced the safety and protection this brings. And so can we! God’s law of protection is ever in effect, even when it seems we’re facing a perilous situation.

Even the understanding that Love is our safe place where we always dwell comes from God. Divine Love imparts to us a spiritual sense of God’s ability to protect and preserve His creation.

This is illustrated in the Bible story of Noah. He had such a clear capacity to seek and heed God’s guidance that he was divinely inspired to build an ark before anyone else had an inkling that a huge flood would occur, protecting his family and many creatures. A spiritual interpretation of “ark” in Science and Health defines it as, “Safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved to be as immortal as its Principle; the understanding of Spirit, destroying belief in matter.

“God and man coexistent and eternal; Science showing that the spiritual realities of all things are created by Him and exist forever” (p. 581). In the holy mental state this points to, of understanding our relation to Truth, Principle, and Spirit – which are synonyms for God – we discern the protective presence of God at hand keeping us lifted out of danger.

On my morning walk one day, a familiar passage from the Bible came clearly to me: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower” (Psalms 18:2). This deeply inspired me, and I felt a wave of peace enveloping me. I knew that no matter what situation I found myself in, God would be protecting me and all that I loved.

Moments later, as I entered my house, I immediately saw a cloud of smoke outside the front window. I called to my husband, and from his career as a fire inspector he quickly assessed that an outside electrical outlet had shorted out. Normally a circuit breaker would trip, but in this case it hadn’t, and now a fire had started under the front steps. We worked quickly, without any sense of panic. I actually felt a deep peace.

After the fire was extinguished, having caused minimal damage, my husband, with a quiet sense of awe in his voice, said “God surely was taking care of us today.” How grateful we were to have been at home and able to stop the fire just moments after it had started.

We can be grateful to know that God, divine Love, protects all of His creation. Prayerfully acknowledging that God is an ever-present help opens our eyes to the divine laws that safeguard, alert, and deliver us under all circumstances.

The Lord truly is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer.