Have you ever waited for more money to come in before you felt like you had enough funds? Have you ever waited for another person to come into your life before you were willing to accept your completeness? Have you ever waited for a sickness to go away before you accepted you were healthy? It’s a tricky thing, how mortal mind convinces us we lack unless a certain material condition is first fulfilled.
Jesus taught exactly the opposite when it came to demonstrating enough. He never waited for a material factor in the world to change before he acknowledged enough. When faced with thousands of hungry people to feed, he didn’t wait for food to show up before he acknowledged there was enough to go around. He went to God, acknowledged there was enough to go around, and then the loaves and fishes were manifested outwardly in abundance.
When faced with sick people wanting relief, Jesus didn’t wait for the person’s body to change before he acknowledged they were well. “Rise and walk,” he commanded before there was any outward evidence the lame man could walk. And the man walked.
Twenty years ago, at a time when I feared not having enough money to meet family needs, a lady knocked on our front door early one Saturday morning. I answered, and she handed me a fistful of cash, telling me she didn’t want to hear anything about it. She insisted God had told her to do it. She then turned and left. I stood on the porch awe-struck. I didn’t need the money, but I figured I needed a lesson.
In trying to understand what had happened, I realized it was a messenger sent by God telling me that I never needed to worry about having enough money to pay bills. God was our source of supply, and God would ensure we always had everything we needed, whether it was grocery cash, a roof over our head or tuition to pay the kid’s college bills fifteen years into the future. I took the lesson to heart and have rarely worried about having enough money since, and we’ve always had enough even when earnings were very modest.
When we have God we have everything. What more could we want?
Fear over supply is like owning the largest apple orchard in the world and worrying about having an apple to eat. Ridiculous! You would have more apples to eat than you could possibly know what to do with. Likewise with God, when you know He is your source, you never fear lack. There is no lack in God, only abounding substance every minute, every day, every time.
Enjoy the omnipresence of good–the omnipresence of God–and worry no more. You have all you need.
I really appreciated this article. What really stood out to me was “acknowledging” spiritual truth. I’ve been interested in how much Mrs. Eddy uses the word “acknowledge” in her writings when speaking about man’s spiritual identity. Thanks for writing it, Evan.
This is such a difficult concept when your bills are more than the family income, and there’s constant worry as to how to fund the children’s education and there’s no hope for retirement.
To anon,
It’s difficult to understand when we believe supply is money. The concept of money, is, in and of itself, a very limited thing, often out of reach, not enough, etc. But true riches are spiritual. They are the ideas and inspirations of Truth and Love. When you have these ideas flowing freely through consciousness, they will translate into human needs met–enough money to pay the bills–for these ideas cure the beliefs of limitation, the fears, etc., that prevent us from seeing our needs met in the first place.
What is the secret to getting those freely flowing ideas that translate into human needs met and enough money to pay bills?
All around the world you see people who are not getting their basic needs met. In this country, you see people without homes or losing their present homes, or facing a bleak future without provisions. The world is telling us that it’s money we lack, not ideas and inspirations of Truth and Love. If God is all, then those inspirations of Truth and Love should be easily accessable to all and not a chosen few. And I’ve noticed it’s not just the spiritually minded that have their needs provided. I find your argument hard to buy when no amount of prayer fills the human need. The statement Divine Love always has met and always will need every human need is clearly false; provably false if you pick up any newspaper and read the headlines.
To anon above,
You ask many questions, all good ones! Your last statement about divine Love meeting all needs being false though, I would like to mention that this appears true only if you believe the primary need is material. The primary need is always spiritual. I know families with little money that live life much larger and better than families with lots of money. You simply cannot measure wealth materially. I know what you mean though, about people going hungry and not able to feed their children, this would appear to be Love not meeting needs. But even in those cases, Love is meeting needs by helping humanity understand the primary need is still always spiritual. As we truly enrich ourselves spiritually, the human condition moderates and physical needs are met too. It takes humility, patience, and practice to make these demonstrations, and progress usually happens in degrees, sometimes just a bit at a time. But we be grateful for every bit of progress and keep working for more.
I pray for those people around the world struggling to meet daily needs. I assume you are too. I work everyday in my practice to help them, and see progress continually. As we all jump in and help, our collective contribution will change the world for the better and prove that yes, divine Love is meeting all needs. It’s a demonstration in progress!
I am still stumped why the demonstration has to be in progress. I mean, if God is all, and knows all, surely he would not have put us in this predicament where a demonstration has to be in degrees. Surely, if Good is all, there is no room for this seeming interim state of material existence. And to say it’s unreal is pretty foolish, since we are living in this unreality!
My thoughts have been on those miners in Utah. I had prayed about this during the whole ordeal, convinced that Mind would reveal an outcome that all can understand as a true demonstration. I kept remembering the pamphlet “God’s Law of Adjustment” and the statements about how there is an answer for help, even if you’re out in the middle of the ocean. The article made is sound like it was impossible for there NOT to be a solution because God was right there. So I felt so good about thia, knowing that those miners would survive and be rescued. But look at the turn of events. They have stopped looking for the miners, and I can’t help think about them down there, frightened and helpless. I’m sure some turned to God, and many more prayed for their safe return. There are those of us who believed that God would bring about an adjustment of harmony because this was the LAW!
But then it occurred to me, that this kind of stuff happens all teh time; there doesn’t seem to be any law of adjustment, or if there is, there’s a “catch” to it. It’s certainly not universal, and it’s certainly not demonstrable. It is very frightening to think that we can’t trust God to save us in times of trouble.
It takes a great amount of humility to completely see the unreality of evil–a quality I work on myself everyday. Evil experience is like a dream. It appears very real to the dreamer, but when the dream is past, the effect of the dream is no more.
You mention the miners, yes that is quite sad how it ended, but those miners did not end. They are very much alive and well. They left the material body we identified as them behind in that mine, but they totally escaped death. They were not sustained by a physical body, but by Spirit, and Spirit is still sustaining them. Truth did triumph on their behalf. They are alive and well. And they know it and are experiencing it right now.
As we all grow in spiritual understanding to Life eternal, we will no longer see death. Death is the last enemy to be conquered, so we must be patient while we work out all the lesser demonstrations. But it will come. Jesus has already proved it. It is a foregone conclusion.
Step by step we arrive at the final understanding. And this is the progress I was talking about.
Thanks,Evan,
for such clear views of reality.Jesus walked on the water,and the most important thing about that to me is that I wasn’t there to see it at the time he did it on earth, but I believe that he did it and with more understanding, and humility,some day I may possibly do it. But, in the mean time,I will still believe it until my understanding brings me closer to the truth of “Faith” being the substance of things hoped for,and the evidence of things not seen (that is,with the physical senses;eyes,ears,brain,etc. Believing what’s true about our existance helps to bring us into “Understanding” the only truth about God, and everything God created. Surely we can “lean on”, or “hold on” to what God says about any situation, that is, until we “Understand” the truth for ourselves. Thank God for our practioners,our friends who help us understand, with patience. et.
It is so inspiring to read this discussion points around “God, good, is everywhere and All- in All, why nobody can see this??”.
In the last contribution Anon… is talking about holding on those facts of Truth is a “belief” or a “Faith”. As a german I cant be quite sure about the meaning of these words exactly, but let me share with you, how I use to handle the often appearing difference between “Truth” and “reality”:
By working out a problem or a challenge by praying I can find myself becoming seperated: I perceive something inside me, what is absolutely sure about the Truth, a complete clearness, as a light. And to follow this “new-found” condition becomes the only desire. As well, when I look to the problem, where I was actually starting to pray for it, I find it becoming more and more unimportant, unreal, and actually,just following this clearness I was talking about, I dont care so much about it, if it will stay or not, knowing, that it has and never had any meaning at all !!
Faith turns to understanding, as a base of all my view to the world, just striving to this condition of clearness more and more in all subject of Life.
This is an interesting discussion. I’m having a problem translating the spiritual into supply that I can use for home, bill paying, employment. We’re living in motel rooms for months looking for a home, employment, place. I practice daily gratitude, prayer, love, helpfulness, non-judgement. I read/study daily, listen to God for direction.. I’m feeling I’m not getting the answers we need to move forward. I don’t want fear to either make us plow ahead or drag our feet any longer on decisions. We’re in crunch time here and things look very bleak. What do I need to know? I ask God this daily. I’m at a loss here.
….just to add. I also have been working on looking at the spiritual qualities of home like foundation, comfort, light, understanding, safety, shelter, love, …
To above,
Have stronger expectations about God’s help! It really does meet all human needs, and because God is Love, the supply we need is present before we even think we need it.
God’s supply is wisdom, ideas, inspiration, intelligent action, etc. God is giving you the ability to think clearly, act wisely, be productive and gainfully employed. Expect and demand this beyond doubt! You will see it happen.
Thank you Evan, I’ll put this stronger expectation to work now!! 🙂