Are you in a tight spot – literally or figuratively – with no solution in sight? Feeling trapped can be not only uncomfortable but scary.
Crossing the campus of a large university years ago, I was caught up in an intense anti-war protest. The crowd began aggressively pushing forward, wedging us tightly body to body. Getting trampled or crushed seemed inevitable, and there was no way out.
I was used to turning to prayer for help in lots of circumstances, so that’s what I did. I’d learned that prayer to God isn’t just an optimistic hope or a desperate message to a distant deity. God is as near as our own existence and more loving than the most caring friend. His power is the might of absolute good, abundantly bestowed on His creation, which is entirely spiritual. To me, this meant that nothing is beyond God’s ability and willingness to protect every one of us – and that my petition for help would be answered.
The Bible records Christ Jesus’ escape from an angry throng intent on murder – a situation much more dire than mine. No human effort could have hidden him from his pursuers or neutralized the crowd mentality. Yet he walked through the mob untouched (see Luke 4:28-30). What kept Jesus safe?
Christian healer Mary Baker Eddy explains that Jesus’ spiritual understanding of God and His creation fueled his total confidence in God and led to his unparalleled record of healing. Because he prayerfully maintained this spiritual understanding, he embodied God’s good nature more fully than anyone else.
Mrs. Eddy’s pioneering discovery of Christian Science makes clear that this understanding and confidence are accessible to each of us as well, through Christ. In a statement included in this week’s Bible Lesson from the “Christian Science Quarterly,” she writes, “Christ presents the indestructible man, whom Spirit creates, constitutes, and governs. Christ illustrates that blending with God, his divine Principle, which gives man dominion over all the earth” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 316).
My prayer in that tight spot required me to turn away from panic to wholehearted trust that God was in control right then and there. As I did, the pushing suddenly stopped and a way out opened up. I walked free – of both the situation and my fearful reaction to it. To my memory, the demonstration ended soon after, without any injuries reported.
A Hebrew Scripture account that’s also part of this week’s Lesson tells about a prophet’s attempt to escape from danger. Elijah was targeted by King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, who was plotting to kill him. While Elijah had consistently depended on God up to that point, great fear impelled him to run far into the wilderness.
It looked as though he had made his escape. But God provided a remarkable reassurance that went beyond escape, to thoroughly erase his terror. After appearances of impressive physical violence – a strong wind, earthquake, and fire – the prophet heard the source of real power: God’s “still small voice.” And God gave Elijah specific instructions that would ensure his safety (see I Kings 19:1-18).
Using “error” as a term for evil, Mrs. Eddy affirms, “When error strives to be heard above Truth, let the ‘still small voice’ produce God’s phenomena” (“The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany,” p. 249). “God’s phenomena” include deep faith and spiritual intuition – qualities that bring freedom to us in every tough predicament. That’s a promise.
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