'There shall no evil befall thee'

To many, security seems to be a fragile entity these days. Harm seems unforeseeable - sometimes coming even through the channels we normally feel we can trust. Trusting God, though, is always a safe thing to do, and our security grows as we understand His beneficent control over every aspect of our lives.

The goodness and supremacy of God and the eternal truth of our relationship to Him ensure that His care for us can never lapse. The Bible is full of instances showing how those who trusted God found protection, even in the face of hidden dangers. Yet the Bible also indicates that our trust needs to be wholehearted and consistent. And this is where we all can continually examine ourselves.

The comforting assurances of the ninety-first Psalm, for instance, carry also the implicit, tender demand for unreserved faith, obedience, and spiritual understanding: ''He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. . . . Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.''

A true understanding of God allows no room for divided trusts. God, and God alone, is the source of our safety. And why shouldn't He be? He is our creator and keeper, the ever-present Father and Mother of every one of us. His unlimited divine power is more than sufficient to keep us from harm, to preserve our health and meet our every need. The same psalm says of God, ''He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.''

This truth that shields us - the truth of God and man - is spiritual, not material. That's why ''the secret place of the most High'' is secretm - it isn't seen in the common material conception of things. The man of God's creating is spiritual, the loved image of his Father-Mother. Divine Spirit perpetually maintains its own image, expressing in man harmony, beauty, perfection. Man is never separated from God, but is always within the embrace of His divine goodness and power. To discern this truth, to feel and trust it, is a practical, certain help in experiencing God's care.

Spiritual truth was plainly visible in the life and teachings of Christ Jesus. His purpose was to show us the truth - to break down walls of ignorance and sin and unite us with the true understanding and worship of God. At times Jesus spoke tenderly to his followers of God's care: ''Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.'' n1 At other times he warned them sternly: ''Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'' n2

n1 Luke 12:6,7.

n2 Luke 16:13.

Both Jesus' encouragements and his warnings point the way to a more solid trust in God. In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scripturesm Mary Baker Eddy n3 writes, ''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.'' n4

n3 Mrs. Eddy is the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science.

n4 Science and Health, p. 494.

In realty, in the eternal truth of our being, we live in God; so we are sheltered in the omnipresence and omnipotence of good. Understanding God's absolute supremacy, and trusting only in Him, we begin to grasp the fact that there really could not be a lesser power to aid or thwart the one All-power. God alone maintains our well-being, and His infinitude - His allness - precludes any evil interference with His good purpose.

We all can benefit from taking stock of where our trust lies. Anchoring our lives on the foundation of spiritual reality, we will discover the perfect safety that is even now afforded us by God. DAILY BIBLE VERSE Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. Psalms 16:1