Waiting on God for the deeper truth

I was out in the mountains hiking in quite a remote area when I saw a piece of gear on the ground to the side of the trail. This was a place where only a handful of people might travel in any given year, and I thought certainly no one would come back looking for it. It also occurred to me that I could put the item to good use, and so, with no more consideration than that I put it in my pack and carried on.

Except, a little way up the trail I caught myself thinking, “It’s not stealing, or breaking a commandment; you just found it; it’s okay.” Hmmm. That made me pause and question this justifying thought in prayer.

What I find in situations where I’m justifying something, is that there is often some deeper truth at play, which God, divine Mind, is nudging me to be attentive to.

I walked on, continuing to pray, and when I felt open to listening to the answer, I asked God in prayer, “What do You want me to understand here?” The answer came immediately: “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.” Yes, the Golden Rule was the deeper truth in that case (see Matthew 7:12).

As soon as my thought was open to it, I realized that most likely a nearby rancher had lost the gear when working with their cattle, and I found a place to hang the item where they could discover it when they were next out there. Obeying God, who is infinite good, felt satisfying.

Continuing up the mountain, I could see that the pattern which occurred in that small experience was something that happens in more significant ways as well. Human thought is quick to take a position, justify it, and then defend it, all without pausing and waiting on God, as the Psalms teach us to do (see Psalms 25:5, for example).

But the thing is, God is invested in bringing the integrity, goodness, and love which characterize the Divine to light through each of us as the entirely spiritual daughters and sons of God.

In the book of Isaiah, God is recorded by the prophet as saying, “My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8). How does one know God’s thoughts? I’ve found it really helps to ask, “God, what do You know of this?” Or, “How do You want me to see this?” Prayerfully asking in this way quiets limited thoughts and opens one to the spiritual goodness that the divine Mind is communicating.

To receive God’s messages, we need to listen and yield. It takes courage to trust that what God, Love, reveals will be useful, even though it may be quite different from the position we have attached ourselves to. And it takes willingness to yield to the inspiration that comes.

Putting that gear back didn’t take any particular courage or extraordinary willingness, but I could feel that God was reminding me of the value of praying even about issues that don’t seem like a big deal.

Each time we are responsive to God’s nudging and give up our personal thoughts and position about something for the deeper truth being revealed, it teaches us how to do so when the big things come up.

This yielding of personal justification is part of Christian discipleship, which the founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, describes in the textbook “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures”: “Christian Scientists must live under the constant pressure of the apostolic command to come out from the material world and be separate” (p. 451). The opportunity for discipleship is available to all, bringing with it limitless blessings.

In a world that can often seem hopelessly trapped in vitriol and strong personal opinions, disciples of Christ – students of the spiritual idea of God – daily find ways in their own lives to break that pattern, as Jesus did throughout his career.

What if each person were willing to move beyond surface currents and strongly held positions and really listen for what God knows and is revealing? Would we find progress in our families, communities, nations, world? Most certainly. We each have a choice moment by moment.

When we yield in prayer to divine Mind’s direction, it does make a difference. I imagine that there is a rancher somewhere in southern Colorado with a smile on her face that someone left her gear where she could find it instead of putting it in their pack. Praying about the small things matters, just as it does with the big things.