When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.
Floods come in many different forms.
Tides of water is one form. Fear, worry, threats, disease, mental darkness, and economic calamity are others.
Whatever flood of error appears to be coming your way, God is bigger than the wave before you. Like getting into a boat and floating on top of the water, we can enter a consciousness of Truth that lifts our thought above the waves of error and keeps us from sinking into them.
God can handle the flood.
Keep thought in a heavenly place and let God handle the rest.
The flood stops. Peace takes over.
Perfect, thank you, Evan.
Thank you Evan, sometimes trouble can indeed seem like an overwhelming wave.
My husband and I went windsurfing many moons ago, b.c. (before children)
Wipe outs happened, in deep water the waves could be swamping.
I recall trying to get back on the my board, when I calmed my thought and followed the steps of the technique taught, for a water start, it worked!
Mrs Eddy’s spiritual interpretation of Ark is wonderful, so comforting, in part, she says;
S&H 581
“ARK. Safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved to be as immortal as its Principle; the understanding of Spirit, destroying belief in matter.”
Thanks
Thanks all. much. LOVE
Thank you for responding with your experience of returning to your board while deep in the water. Love that image, bouncing along with the current, and conquering the belief in matter. The idea of activating the definition of ARK pointed me in a direction of responding to “feeling unsafe” which happened once at home, when I was very young. I love the idea of turning to “Spirit, destroying belief in matter”, as a very useful answer to face down fear
Since punctuation was not included in the original writings I once saw this suggestion. Move the comma. Then the text reads, When the enemy shall come in, like a flood the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. This changes the meaning delightfully to be that when the enemy (mortal mind, negative thoughts) come in, then the spirit of the Lord comes in like a flood (quickly, forcefully, and totally overflowing our carnal thinking and washing them a way. Just a thought. Thanks for this post.
I LOVE this! Thank you-gives me a whole new perspective. I’m going to use this.
Thank you, Pat.
Ya know….I will be using this tactic when reading Scripture. I have a lot of new re-view-ing.
Pat this is wonderful and what a great new perspective. This Spirit View was just what I needed today as I am facing a “flood” of an experience. Im going to know that the flood of divine Love will come in and wash away any hate or negativity.
Thanks Pat for the clarification and notification about how this statement sheds/shines light on erasing the error in thought. It helps me understand that the blessing is coming direct from GOD/TRUTH. The added effect is being showered with GOD’S LOVE and PROTECTION, with no delay.
Thanks Pat. I found a reference (not CS) that discusses and explains just what you said about the comma being out of place in this verse. Interesting.
https://pastorjacksiame.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/he-will-lift-up-a-standard-against-your-adversary-2/
Also on the meaning of God “lifting up a standard” against the enemy. A standard was a battle flag or banner carried by warriors as they went out to subdue their adversaries It can mean that as we turn to God for help, He rises up to destroy for us, any belief in error, rendering it powerless. As Evan said, “Keep thought in a heavenly place, and let God handle the rest.”
Dear Rose, that article explains it all so well.
Thank you Rose, and thank you Pat for drawing our attention to the sentence. What
a difference to understanding punctuation makes.
I appreciate your daily inspiration. Today I will happily stay above the waves of sadness, secure in the arms of Love.
Thank you, Evan, for your inspiration every day. And Pat, for your thought today.
I also find the following citation from Science & Health, p.201:17 very helpful if caught in a distressing
situation, and for praying for others:
‘The way to extract error from mortal mind is to pour in truth through flood-tides of Love.”
It is very similar to Pat’s interpretation above, The fast flowing flood-tides of Love carries away whatever the problems seem to be, and gobbles them up.
“Let God calm the storm to a whisper” just as He calms the flood to a trickle.
Thank you so much for all these practical prayerful ideas regarding how to stem the tides of error, suggestions, prophecies, predictions, intimidation’s and impositions of mortal sense which lead us to a greater spiritual sense of peace and healing! God is so good!
Helpful reminder for today as I needed.
Thank you Evan and all and Jay – for, “Let God calm the storm to a whisper”
which reminds me of Mrs. Eddy’s Pond and Purpose in Misc. Writings where she
writes about the “baptism of Spirit, or final immersion of human consciousness
in the infinite ocean of Love, is the last scene in corporeal sense”. To me, that
is a purification of thought from the material to the spiritual. And “o’er earth’s
troubled, angry sea, I see Christ walk, And come to me, and tenderly,
Divinely talk”.
Thank you Carol; just yesterday I looked throughy my hymnalbook to find a suitable hymn, but could not find for yestersay’s. SpiritView. But I came to this very comforting hymn 253 of Mrs. Eddy which contains your last sentence. It’s Mrs. Eddy’s poem “o’er waiting harpstrings of the mind…” Christ my Refuge”. It’s the 4th.verse you recited which is so lovingly!
Thank you Evan for your SpiritView for the weekend which is the trigger for so inspiring comments and J’s link to the wonderful article! ♡
Oh Carol, you mean Jay Deputy who wrote such a special thought “let God calm the Storm to a whisper”. that’s really a great comforting.thought.
Thank you, Uta, for sharing the hymn number and I love that hymn/poem
and message. I thought my comment would go directly under Jay’s comment
above when I had written it, but two other comments had come in before. I should
have clarified more, so thank you.
I want in that boat.
Get in it, The boat that is.