We Can Help

Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life

In this world many untoward events will cross your path. You can look the other way. Or you can go to God in prayer and find Him to be of help.

This may or may not necessarily mean getting directly involved in solving a particular problem. It could mean only reaching to God to align your own thought with what He knows, seeking to bring a healing influence to bear on your view of some situation.

If Christ Jesus had always kept himself at arm's length, aloof from what was going on around him, the world would be a different place-uninfluenced by his healing words and deeds. The isolated way of going through life is pretty short on reward. Had Jesus followed in that path, Christianity would not exist today!

If you've read the Bible, you may recall a time when Jesus and some of his disciples were near the gate of a city called Nain (see Luke 7:11-16). A funeral procession passed by, and Jesus learned that the deceased was the only son of a widow. The Bible says Jesus had compassion on her, and his compassion led him to revive the young man, who immediately sat up and spoke. The result was that the people glorified God. That was a remarkable healing, one we may feel we do not have sufficient understanding to duplicate. Yet, Mary Baker Eddy discovered the underlying laws of God that enabled Christ Jesus to heal. She named them Christian Science and set them forth in the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. There she wrote, "In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as 'a very present help in trouble' " (pp. 12-13).

Some years ago, when I was taking a summer school class in Los Angeles, I was waiting for a bus to take me home. A young woman was very upset. She had bought a round-trip ticket that morning, but one of her classes had let out late, and the ticket had expired. She had no money for a new one.

She tried to talk the bus driver into letting her take her regular ride. When he refused, a loud fight took place, and she started swearing at him. The passengers were upset-some at the driver, and some at her. It looked like he was about to throw her off the bus. I had no way to help her financially. But I did find another way to help.

I turned away from staring at the situation and started to pray as the Bible and Science and Health had been showing me. First, I sought to understand clearly that as God's child she could express only the purity, kindness, gentleness, and intelligence of her Maker. That had to be true of the driver as well. I continued praying, remembering that God meets all our needs and must meet her need. Nothing, certainly not an invalid bus ticket, could ever separate someone from God. I knew that God is divine Love, the only intelligent force, and that He loves each of His children. God could never leave any one of us stranded.

Engrossed in this praying, I had not noticed that all had become calm. The woman had sat down right next to me, although there were plenty of empty seats. That was natural, now that I think about it. I had been trying to help everyone on the bus by praying, knowing the truth about what must be going on under God's care. She apparently felt attracted to this atmosphere of thought. Sometime during my quiet time of thinking about God, the bus driver had relented and the woman had calmed down. I was impressed that, despite the manner in which she had been behaving just a short time before, no one seemed even to be remembering now. I felt the quiet joy we will always feel when helping others by praying for ourselves.

The desire to help those around us reflects the way God made us. The manner in which we address the situations that arise in our lives reveals what we know of God; the more we know about and express His nature, the more effectively we are able to bring a healing touch to humanity's ills. His justice is absolute. His love for His creation is unwavering.

My help cometh from

the Lord, which made

heaven and earth.

Psalms 121:2

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