God’s help is here
Sometimes it can feel as if we need to wait for the bad things to stop before we can experience the good. But we can trust in the biblical promise of God’s immediate help, right here and now.
Used only occasionally today, there is a word found in the Bible that is quite comforting and encouraging: succor. It means to run to give assistance and support.
When facing hardship or distress, no one wants to wait around for help. At such times I’ve been encouraged by this biblical description of the kind of undelayed help that God provides: “In the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time” (II Corinthians 6:2).
Yes, the “accepted” time for God’s help is now, not then. God’s schedule isn’t a calendar of years. It isn’t a period of months, days, or even hours. It is the timeless eternity of now. This means that God’s essential goodness isn’t constricted by events, people, red tape, or luck.
How does God succor us? For starters, by changing our thoughts. A change of perspective prompted by God is answered prayer, because what we understand of God, good, greatly impacts what we experience. A clearer understanding of God and our relation to God brings tangible help and healing.
For instance, when the mother-in-law of his close friend was sick and feverish, Jesus “came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her” (Mark 1:31).
The immediacy of God’s succor is obvious there. Jesus’ understanding of God’s healing love opened the door for that love to be instantly felt. This holy assistance is the Christ, the comforting influence of God that transforms thought, revealing the universal presence of God’s goodness and wholeness. Jesus manifested this Christ-spirit so fully that he is known as Christ Jesus.
Everyone is able today, like Jesus did then, to turn to the Christ for a healing change of thought, which also changes our lives. More than willpower or positive thinking, Christ makes clear to us that God’s goodness is the only legitimate presence and force.
I experienced God’s succor in a striking way when I was playing in a college baseball game. As I was sliding into a base, I inadvertently jammed my thumb and found that I could only move it slightly. It also hurt, and right away I began praying.
I knew from reading the Bible that God is not just a future help, but “a very present help in trouble” (Psalms 46:1). This “present help,” I realized, was right there to change my thought and outlook about this situation.
Mary Baker Eddy’s book about Christian healing, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” explains: “When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, ‘I am hurt!’ Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real” (p. 397). Then Mrs. Eddy goes on to talk about how a prayerful, confident recognition of God’s allness brings healing.
During the game, I took exactly that approach. As I prayed, I soon saw that in God there are no accidents or dislocations, and this applies to God’s children, too. An injured thumb just isn’t part of the invulnerable spiritual goodness and wholeness that God is imparting to each of us, not just in a future time, but right now, immediately!
I felt gently succored by God’s boundless, unrestricted goodness and loving presence. I knew that I was on my way to healing. Indeed, complete healing came quickly: By the very next morning, the swelling and discoloration were gone, and I was able to play baseball comfortably – our team had a double-header, in fact. I still remember the joy of playing on that happy day.
On a broader scale, in a time when the world may seem filled with turbulence, God is still here to succor us. We don’t need to sit around waiting for the bad to end. God’s goodness is never suppressed. It is always present, and it’s always enough, because it is literally infinite, all. Through prayer inspired by God we begin to grasp that we have ceaseless God-given goodness, wholeness, ability, and opportunity. Mentally yielding to this Christ message empowers us to experience those qualities immediately and tangibly.
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