Delight in the Almighty
In a number of faith traditions, Almighty is one colorful name for God. Different from “mighty,” “Almighty” conveys God’s singularity and vast nature. If God were simply one mighty entity among many, then He could be in competition, even conflict, with other things, forces, or beings.
“Almighty” represents “all-power; infinity; omnipotence,” as Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, defines it in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” (p. 581). God is alone in authority and power. Not just mighty, but all-mighty, God stands enduringly in utter supremacy, without an adversary.
To recognize this, even a little, gives us means to pray effectively – and be healed. “There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding,” says the Bible (Job 32:8). Almighty Spirit, God, provides us with healing inspiration that reveals our true nature as the Almighty’s creation – the spiritual offspring of God. As such, we are designed to discern and be blessed by that divine inspiration.
Several years ago, I was challenged with an illness that appeared so overwhelmingly mighty that at one point I felt completely powerless. It seemed to me that the illness could be fatal.
Yet I knew from experience that prayer based on the supremacy of God, who is entirely good, is powerful and healing. So from that point forward I gave myself over to God. Not in a fatalistic or depressing way, but in the sense of affirming that God is infinite Life itself, and that as His children we’re the expression of His pure goodness and wholeness – not physical, vulnerable beings.
The Bible’s 91st Psalm offers this life-changing statement: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (verse 1). This “secret place” in consciousness is a prayerful space, just between us and God. It is a place in thought that is defined by God, Love, and nothing less. Christ Jesus spoke to its promise: “Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:6).
The reward comes from becoming more aware of God’s presence, recognizing that we always “abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” God’s realm is the realm of divine Truth’s intelligence, of Spirit’s pure perfection, of Love’s tender affection. We are not stuck on our own. Through prayer, we can become more conscious that God’s children are forever held in the Almighty’s powerful, loving, all-encompassing, absolute goodness.
On a very hot, sunny day, if you stand under the shadow of an umbrella, you will feel comfort. Much more comforting than an umbrella’s shadow is the Almighty’s shadow.
That’s what I experienced when, faced with that illness, I dedicated myself to steadily listening for God’s inspiration and feeling His love. In yielding space in my thoughts to the absolute all-might of infinite Spirit, allowing awareness of Spirit’s great power to remain quietly and evocatively present in my consciousness from morning to evening, I truly began to feel comforted. Furthermore, I soon found myself completely and permanently well.
Science and Health explains what’s behind this kind of healing: “The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus’ time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation” (p. xi).
When human consciousness – our everyday thoughts, perspectives, and feelings – abides in awareness of the almighty power of divine Principle (another name for God), fearful, mistaken beliefs about the legitimacy of disease evaporate.
No wonder the Bible encourages that we can “have [our] delight in the Almighty” (Job 22:26). As we come to see that we truly are always abiding under the Almighty’s shadow of pure goodness, inspiration, and love, comfort and healing are the natural results.
