Letting your life be divinely propelled
A Christian Science perspective: There's no need to push and pull to make things work the way we think they should.
One snowy morning I was using my new snowblower to clean the driveway. The snow was fluffy but deep. I pushed and pulled on the snowblower because it didn’t move forward the way I thought it should. It seemed like more work than it should be.
Then I remembered that it was a self-propelled device, like my lawn mower. Immediately I eased up on the handle and let the blower move forward at its own speed. Suddenly, things got a lot better.
This gave me a little nudge to think about how we sometimes pray. We ask God to help us; we repeat our requests; we plead; we sometimes push a little too hard. But I’ve found that so much more good comes my way, and my prayers are often more quickly answered, when I remember that God is, in His way, self-propelled. He doesn’t need me to push and pull Him to get what I think I need. God, as a loving Father and Mother of all of His children, knows what we need and knows how to supply that need, whether it’s for inspiration, an answer to a difficult situation, or a healing of a physical ailment.
When you need inspiration to help you break out of apathy or discouragement, it’s so helpful to remember that God, divine Mind, is always present, always caring for you and for all His sons and daughters, and always able to provide fresh ideas that break the spell of negativity or anxiety.
When a difficult situation is staring you in the face, you can turn to God as divine Principle, governing, guiding, and directing everything He makes. God is never disconnected, disinterested, or disengaged from His creation. He is always present, always loving, and always providing the right solution to what looks like a complicated circumstance.
If you’re dragging your feet and feel burdened because of a physical ailment, divine Love always has an angel thought that can break the mesmerism and fear that often seem so stubborn. Humbly listening for divine Love’s direction, comfort, and ever-present care brings freedom.
I’ve found that in every circumstance I can let God take the lead and let Him lift me above and beyond the thickness of the challenge facing me. Divine Love is self-propelled and ever-active. There is no inertia or resistance to keep divine Love from blessing each one of His children. Divine Mind is all-knowing and decisive. God knows what to do, when to do it, and how to make things work.
Christ Jesus did many wonderful works. He declared more than once that he was not the source or cause of all his works, but rather the witness to God’s omnipresence and all-loving action. The Master accomplished so much good that continues to bless humanity today.
Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered Christian Science, discerned that Jesus’ works were the result of his trusting God for the initiative, energy, and accomplishment of his mission. He recognized that it was God, divine Principle, propelling him to do the wonderful works he performed. She writes: “Jesus established his church and maintained his mission on a spiritual foundation of Christ-healing. He taught his followers that his religion had a divine Principle, which would cast out error and heal both the sick and the sinning. He claimed no intelligence, action, nor life separate from God” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 136).
Anyone today can learn from Jesus’ example that it’s the divine energy and ability that enable us to experience the blessings we deserve. Mrs. Eddy also wrote: “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. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine ‘powers that be’ ” (Science and Health, p. 249).
There’s no need to push and pull to make things work out the way we think they should. God knows what’s right and good, and never makes a mistake. He is the energy and strength bringing to our daily lives all the good we wish for and deserve. Trusting His intelligence, capacity, and direction, we will find ourselves rejoicing that “we are subject to the divine ‘powers that be.’ ”