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God’s care – universal and all-embracing

A Christian Science perspective: We can experience God’s infinite love in tangible ways.

  • By Lois Degler

Recently I saw a news photo of a schoolgirl living in famine conditions in Africa. That photo touched my heart. I wanted to pray about this, and I did – but that picture, making so clear her need, kept coming back to thought, and I wasn’t finding comfort from my prayers.

When I began to listen carefully for an answer, this thought came to me: “She’s with Me. I’m taking care of her.” I knew that message was from God, divine Mind. This inspiration helped me see, in a gentle but firm way, that this young girl had an unbreakable relation to God, just as I did – as everyone does. In fact, we’re not just “with” God: God created each of us as His own spiritual reflection, cared for and cherished. Everyone is embraced in God’s infinite love and can experience that sustaining love in tangible ways wherever they are.

I’ve kept on praying and trusting that God’s infinite wisdom is right there, providing the practical care for all who are living in that part of the world, and in every other corner of the globe, too. I know that prayer does make a difference. I’ve seen this in my own life, in meaningful ways.

There was the time we’d just moved into a house on the bank of a large river. On a day of heavy rain, flooding seemed imminent. We really didn’t know what to do, and so we prayed for answers. And then, some unexpected things happened. Neighbors helped us get a truck. County rescue workers were suddenly there, without anyone calling them, and filled that truck with our possessions. A friend offered us shelter until the water receded.

While not life-threatening, this experience showed that God provided the ideas that brought us just what was needed at that moment and in that situation. I knew it was God because God is the source of all good and communicates His goodness, comfort, and guidance to each individual. No one can be separated from God, the infinite divine Love that expresses itself in us. And we all have the intuitive ability to listen for and hear those God-sent messages, enabling us to find solutions to our needs, whether big or small.

So I keep being grateful every day for the spiritual fact that God’s care is universal and all-embracing. In her book “No and Yes,” Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy says, referring to God as divine Love, “God will ‘furnish a table in the wilderness’ and show the power of Love” (p. 9).

Efforts to provide needed help to those who are in famine regions can include prayer. And as I continue to pray, I also know that God’s healing love is right here – and right there – fulfilling the promise I heard that day: “They’re with Me. I’m taking care of them.”

A version of this article aired on the Aug. 22, 2017, Christian Science Daily Lift podcast.

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