I just had an article titled, “Exercising divine control over the body,” published by the Christian Science Sentinel, online.
I share ideas on how to exercise more dominion over the body by understanding God’s control over spiritual creation.
Exercising control over the body
April 16, 2024 | 35 comments
Really helpful article, thank you for taking the time to share this Evan!
I would be interested to hear your thoughts / the thoughts of your readers on why these situations / accidents seem to occur in the first place. Is it purely because we’re not vigilant enough in asserting and affirming God’s control over every situation, no matter how trivial (like coiling up the mains cable in your article)? And that had you been proactively praying at the time then you would have been protected from injury in the first place?
It seems that if God does govern everything, then accidents wouldn’t happen at all — He wouldn’t just facilitate a quick healing after an accident had taken place, it wouldn’t have happened full-stop (or period!) …
Thank you again!
Thank you Evan, a great article !
David, You might find some answers here.
I was 11 or 12 years old when I attended this lecture in Paris and never forgot about it- at that time a printed copy of the lectures were given to the audience. I still have this copy and still study it. It has helped in many situations during all these years. Hope it wiill also help othets.
https://cslectures.org/holmes/god-not-chance-holmes.htm
thanks, Martine, for saving and sharing that lecture!
Thank you for your reply Martine, I will take a look at this lecture!
Good question David. If reasoning with a human mortal mind then accidents occur. Instead we have to shift our sense of control and mind to God where there are no accidents and thus the seeming material impact of experiencing an accident are immediately corrected. I keep returning to that well loved passage where Mrs Eddy says that “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals”. Isn’t ‘accident’ just another name for ‘sin’ ? Mortal mind often in my experience uses an ‘accident’ to excuse bad behaviour, carelessness, ignorance. None of these are real in the Kingdom where Divine Life, Truth and Love reign. All I think I have to do is “let” – that’s my activity. God does everything else including correcting any false belief you, I or anyone has. Finally, I read recently that many of David’s Psalms sometimes start with a “help me” or perhaps we could say “help I’ve been in an accident and am hurting”. As the Psalm develops its thinking the words resolve into praise for God – thanksgiving that there are no accidents and so we cannot suffer any effect from a false belief in them because God loves us all.
Thank you so much for your reply David G! I hadn’t thought of substituting ‘sinning’ for ‘accidenting’ … or any other label humanity would put on others (careless, clumsy, impolite, arrogant, etc)
But it’s only an aggressive mental suggestion that an accident happened in the first place. Evan met that suggestion with the truth that the accident wasn’t an actual event that had a reason or cause.
Good point, thank you Cat!
David – in my thoughts, the so-called accident only appears through mortal sense. God sees no accident to begin with. There are no accidents in God’s kingdom. God has complete control but this is in Spirit not in material conditions, which do not exist to God. Everything is in thought so when we pray for healing, we are simply shifting our thought away from the lie of a so-called accident. We will constantly be challenged with aggressive error throughout our human experience – this seems to be how mortal mind works. And every demonstration of its powerlessness through prayer and healing is simply another rung we have climbed in our understanding of God. My two cents!
Thanks so much Dee Dee!
At this stage of life I realize my whole life has been protected through every situation. I have had batteries explode in my face, countless situation where disaster could have changed the entire projection of my life. I personally don’t believe that life is subject to chance but instead opportunity. Our direct experience on the human level is a constance opportunity to express faith on a level of sincerity. Without such an opportunity what is it that we have? Are we just riding a merry-go-round with all it ups and owns without purpose. Given our opportunities to express love, we also have growth, given the opportunities to be patience, we also have long suffering, compassion, grace, meekness, steadiness. Each of our experience on the human scale is an expression of spirirual growth. That grown impact everyone who experiences us as a child of God. For me without those challenges, I miss also the opportunities to express that growth.
Hi David H. I will do my best to explain the way I understand it in Christian Science.
If we accept the first account of God’s creation in Genesis 1 as the reality of being,
and accept only that version, then truly we know that God does govern everything. As
we build up our understanding of this fact through our study of the Bible and its spiritual interpretation from Science Health by Mary Baker Eddy, we can always feel safe and secure knowing God is with us all the time, and ready to show us that all is in His hands and in accord with His perfect spiritual law of Love, and there is no need to be fearful of anything.
However, if we identify with the second account of creation depicted in the second
chapter of Genesis, we are liable to be at the mercy of all the human material beliefs and false laws included in that false material view of God’s creation. This false version would suggest that we are struggling mortals, separated from God, instead of His beloved spiritual children, – or even suggest that God is both good and bad – and tempts us to us believe in things which God never made or caused. As He is all good, and the only true God, we will then need to turn wholeheartedly to God as Evan did and does, and place ourselves totally in our Father’s omnipotent care, listening for His messages He send us through Christ our Saviour, that turn us back to God, and letting the Christ lift our thoughts up out of the darkness of material beliefs, into the light of spiritual understanding, to be in accord with God who is all good and creates only good, and wants us to
know this and benefit from His Law of Love.
Thanks so much for your helpful reply Maggie!
Delightfully wonderful article that I can understand, plain and simple. Many thanks
Thanks Evan…everything you write about what appears to be our physical bodies also applies to the body politic, the body of our church membership, etc. And it’s very clearly stated. Thank you.
My sincerest gratitude for this site which provides the meat for the daily tasks at hand. These articles are always timely. Thank you
Evan, super healing thoughts. Thank you. God is indeed in control always!
can’t read the article since not a JSH subscriber.
This should work for you Melissa!
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/4azfbpcjk4?s=copylink
Thank you very much Anne for sharing that link which all can read fully.
Thank you Melissa and Anne – for the entire article ❣️
It does. Thank you, Anne!
Thank you so very much, Evan, for this wonderful article. What lovely demonstrations
that prove, as Mrs. Eddy states on pg # 266 of S&H, “man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.”
I think that may help to answer your question, David H. Each proof in healing is an
“opportunity” to prove God’s care and Love for us and to help us realize, we are not out-
of-control mortals on our own, trying to deal with “problems”. The mortal mind viewpoint
would have us believing in a mortal body that needs to be more youthful, more perfect
in the projected model that is everywhere in advertisements, to try to get one to buy their
products, and try to make us into something we are not, but these just distract from our
Real perfection which is spiritual.
I, one time went skiing also, but had never taken lessons and snow-plowed down the steep
hill. Loved going up the hill on the t-bar . . and the scenery was beautiful. Going down the
hill. Not so much. I had fallen and twisted my knee, but thankfully was with a Christian
Scientist, at the time, who helped keep my thought away from the body/mortality and with
the Spiritual viewpoint and it became a demonstration of God’s care.
Thank you, Evan and all!. I’ve printed out Normal Holmes’s lecture and look forward to perusing it. too.
Thank you everyone and Evan and the question posed by David H. Such a wonderful sharing of excellent, healing inspirations for me. Thank you so much all.
Oh wow Evan, did I need this today!! Thank you so much for showing us how you prayed. It’s so helpful. L. X
Lively and interesting discussion today and I will study it more fully and hope to have something to contribute later.
But for now I wanted to thank Kay who yesterday mentioned an article she studied that helped her overcome fears regarding money and supply. Kay when you mentioned the name I realized I had read this a couple of years ago and loved it. I was happy to find a link to share with everyone. Also loved what you said at the end of your comments about the woman who had to learn to love the IRS, realized I may need to do this too!
“All Figures are Drawn on Infinity” by Barbara Cook Spencer
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/1adlazjmgeo
Rose, many thanks for including this excellent article by Barbara Cook Spencer. I always enjoy reading what she writes.
You’re most welcome J. I’m grateful I was able to find a link that opens fully for everyone. All the best to you.
Flash came to me. Accidents, unpleasant experiences, are like a dream which lingers when we start to wake up and still feel effects. Then we fully awake and realize the truth that it never happened! We are free and healed. So grateful for the blessings of the study of Christian Science which changed my life and enables me to meet the many challenges throughout my life.
Excellent article! Thank you, Evan.
Wonderful article Evan, thank you for writing it. Loved David H’s question and all the insightful answers to it.
So wonderful to be able to ask the community for insights. Because I take a hormone tablet daily or. apparently I would not survive, I cannot have help from.practitioners, they feel they cannot treat me. This forum therefore is invaluable to me. Thank you for your comments and explanations. x
You are welcome. I’m happy to hear you’re finding helpful ideas here. I wanted to comment about your statement “I cannot have help from practitioners…” That is not an accurate statement. If you are sincere in your desire to find spiritual healing through Christian Science, I’m sure there is a practitioner that would be willing to help you demonstrate health coming from Spirit. Love finds a way.
Thank you Evan. Thank you all. l love all what you, all have shared here today. It’s very uplifting.