Have you ever feared germs?

A recent experience of mine proved the benefit of destroying a fear of germs.

A week ago I came home late one evening from a tennis match to find my wife battling an aggressive cold. I sat by her side and prayed with her for relief.

In my prayers, I knew she was a spiritual being governed by divine law that maintained her in a perfect state of health. Even though the human picture did not indicate health, I understood the whole purpose and intent of prayer is to improve the outward view, and that Christ was on the scene making the positive change for us through our prayers.

As I declared truth, I found my peace of mind about the permanency of her health and wellness. I felt confident that she was safe and well. She calmed down and began to rest.

But then I was deluged with suggestions about catching a cold myself from a bedroom filled with airborne germs.

This is almost comical because I rarely fear contagion, but nonetheless, the suggestions were running rampant in my thought, and I knew from past experience that you do not ignore aggressive suggestions if you wish to keep yourself free of their dire predictions. They have to be dealt with and eliminated.

To be protected, I metaphysically treated myself to not get a cold from germs.

How?

By affirming truth and denying error.

Truth: God is the only power of the universe and He causes only good things to happen. God governs and controls the health and well being of man. God is a good God and produces only a good effect. God did not create harmful environments, dangerous germs or unsafe conditions. I lived in the omnipresence of God, and was exposed only to health producing circumstances. Governed by God’s law of perpetual health, I remained healthy and well at all times.

Denial: Germs have no power of their own. They cannot impact me for good or for bad. They are mindless, harmless, and powerless bits of matter-belief that have no influence over my thinking, over my body, or over my health.

I rounded my prayers out by knowing I breathed in the omnipresence of good and that love and goodness alone circulated in the atmosphere of my life.

I fell asleep assured all was well and that I would not under any circumstances get a cold from my wife’s sneezing that evening.

My wife recovered quickly from the bout and I have remained cold free ever since. The germs were proved powerless to affect my health, and I am grateful.

Christian Science gives us wonderful tools to combat potential health problems and keep ourselves healthy. But we have to put these tools to use to receive their benefit. And one of the most powerful tools Christian Science provides is the ability to take proactive spiritaul action to prevent illness.

When mortal mind makes a suggestion like, “There are germs in the air and they are going to make me ill,” one must not ignore the suggestion. The very fact that one even thinks the suggestion proves a need to nullify it before it grows into a worse belief of “I’m ill.”

Mary Baker Eddy, a wise and successful Christian Science healer wrote, “Sin and disease must be thought before they can be manifested. You must control evil thoughts in the first instance, or they will control you in the second.”

We can take control of evil beliefs before they take control of us. Our conscientious prayers can prevent suffering. It may take vigorous effort to put down the initial suggestion, but the strenuous effort is worth the reward.

God never created a harmful germ. He created conditions of Love that bless and protect. This truth neutralizes a fear of germs, and in turn proves the microbes to be harmless.

Germs are no threat to a consciousness of spiritual truth.