The Energizing Power of Spirit

Bringing a spiritual perspective to world events and daily life.

IN this modern world, we may feel that too many demands are being made on us. We feel overburdened, and this leads to weariness and stress, and sometimes even to resentment that we are being "put upon" or "taken advantage of"!

This is how I felt at one time. Although I made a great effort to keep going, I became overwhelmed with problems. I also developed pain around the heart, was having blackouts, and lost all my energy. My mother noticed how poorly I looked, and while I was visiting her one day she seemed to be especially anxious about me.

I knew her comments were motivated by her love for me. But I also knew that I needed to be free of the burden, weariness, and anxiety I had been feeling. These mortal feelings were no part of my real nature as God's expression, man. I knew that because my inheritance was from my heavenly Father, God, it was wholly good. As I prayed, I realized that God is Life, and Life is expressed in activity. Therefore, everything good and necessary we do to serve our family and our fellowman is a legitimate way to express this spiritual activity and order in our lives. But I could accomplish these tasks through God's strength, not my own, because He is my creator and source. When I turned my efforts to satisfying God, the feeling of being overworked was gone.

When it seems that others are making too many demands on us, or human situations seem overwhelming, we can remember that God, the source of all right action, is providing us with all the strength, opportunity, and patience necessary to do what is right for us to do. Sometimes this will mean that we are relieved of some other duties, and in every case we will be relieved of stress or strain in accomplishing our duties. Indeed, we are not wearied or burdened by helpful and loving actions. The more we do lovingly, and the more lovingly we do it, the more we can do. We see the infinite resources of Spirit's energy operating in our lives.

The inescapable demand on us is to acknowledge that power and strength are from the divine source, omnipotent Life, and so are unlimited. If our motive is to bless, it is blessed by God and He supplies all we need to fulfill our commitments. All right activity is God's action. The Master, Christ Jesus, said, "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10). We, too, can know that the Father that dwelleth in us is the guiding influence in all our good works. We are not struggling, pressured mortals, but God's immortal, spiritual reflection-the very expression of Life and Love. As obedient children of Love's household, we rest in Love's action and feel the Father's blessing on our work for each other. We still fulfill all our duties, but without a personal sense of energy and responsibility.

Learning and acknowledging these truths healed me of the burden I had been feeling, and freed me from strain, stress, and weariness. The final healing came one very busy day in the words of a poem by the Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. The poem, "Communion Hymn," asks: "Felt ye the power of the Word?" (Poems, p. 75). And I did. I felt the power of the Word, and a beautiful peace came over me.

At that moment the pains around my heart ceased. I felt a wonderful renewal of strength, and there were no more blackouts. I felt "the divine energy of Spirit" and realized that God was the strength behind every action of my life's work. In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mrs. Eddy urges: "Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy" (p. 249). Since then I have never felt weary, though I always feel gratitude, satisfaction, and peace after a day's activities. My commitments are being met without anxiety or stress, and jobs are completed on time.

You can find more articles like this one in the Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine.