From devastation to unspeakable joy
Turning unreservedly to God, who is everywhere present and all-powerful, enables us to face down fear and move forward productively, as a man experienced after his house was severely vandalized and robbed.
Many years ago in Spain, it looked as though I had lost everything. While I was away visiting family, I received a phone call from the police saying that my home had been vandalized and robbed. Remarkably, they had a photo of the perpetrator and his license plate as he was driving off my property.
When I arrived many hours later, the police told me that they had never before seen anything like this violent destruction and vandalism. They remarked that the intent seemed filled with hatred. Windows and doors were gone. Everything that made the house habitable was broken. All the furniture had been taken, and both the inside and outside were defaced.
An intense fear and resentment fell on me. I felt as though my whole being had been invaded and stripped of dignity. There was no way at that moment that I could enter my home.
My study and practice of the teachings of Christian Science had shown me that the power of God heals and harmonizes all kinds of difficulties. I knew I needed to pray to feel divine Love’s fatherhood and motherhood embracing me, to remove the seed of fear.
These words from the Bible came to thought: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10). It was clear to me that no one is out of reach of the comfort and help of these powerful promises.
Christ Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount also came to me: “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:19, 20).
I was able to enter the house with a new strength from Spirit, God, to confront the situation. For the next two days, I remained in the house, praying. My thoughts became so absorbed with God’s presence that desolation and fear couldn’t impress me.
During those two days, prayer transformed me from feeling completely devastated to feeling an unspeakable joy. I understood that my spiritual identity as God’s reflection was my permanent home – indestructible, intact, and inviolate. This not only brought me a deep peace but enabled me to feel a heartfelt compassion and tenderness for all mankind.
By the third day, I felt ready to return to the police, as they had requested – this time, without anger or any sense of defeat. They told me that these thieves were considered extremely dangerous. As a former police officer, I was given permission to participate in the search.
The police showed me the photo of the man seen leaving my property. He was suspected to be the leader of this gang. I prayed for guidance, and through a brief search, was able to discover where the man lived. I went to his home and found him. Although it must have seemed an extraordinary coincidence, I knew it was really the law of Love uncovering what was wrong. Feeling divine Love’s presence, I could see clearly that this man couldn’t be separated from Love either. This all-inclusive spiritual Love left no room for fear.
I spoke with him for a few minutes and felt much compassion for him. He began to cry and told me that he knew what he had done was wrong. We went together in my car to the police station, where the man was detained and later sent to jail. Even though I don’t know what ultimately happened to this man, I know that he had to have been touched by the Christ – the message of divine Love speaking to human consciousness – as I was.
The chief of the investigation called me a few months later to tell me that there had been a noticeable decrease in robberies in the region. He said he was very grateful for my courage and what I was able to do. Eventually the damages were repaired and new furniture acquired so that I could live in the house again.
Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, wrote in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself;’ annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, – whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed” (p. 340).
Fear is not inevitable, and evil is not the natural state of man. This will become more evident in our individual and collective experience as we allow God’s love to bless and guide every aspect of our lives.
Adapted from an article published in the June 27, 2022, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.