"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him," writes the Psalmist. Can we say likewise? If our expectation is entirely from God, we shall expect good, and only good; we shall expect that only which is like God. Can we say this, even when confronted with seeming evil? David had abundant assurance as to God's power; the shepherd lad had no doubt that God would deliver the armies of Israel from the Philistines. God had delivered him from "the paw of the bear;" and he had not the slightest doubt that deliverance from hostile armies was equally assured, without regard to their numbers, abilities, or any other circumstance.
It is necessary to examine our own thinking to find out exactly what we are expecting, and whence—from Spirit or matter. When the solution of some problem seems to be deferred, it is wise to examine our thoughts and to make sure there is no outlining mingled with our expectation; we should satisfy ourselves that we are willing that every detail shall be governed by the law of God, good, and that we are not conceding any power to mortal mind, or expecting any so-called material laws or conditions to influence the demonstration. On pages 380 and 381 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says, "Every law of matter or the body, supposed to govern man, is rendered null and void by the law of Life, God." Therefore, no evidence presented by material sense need ever influence or modify our expectation of good.
We should watch our expectation continually. One cannot read the Psalms without being struck by the fact that the Psalmist's consciousness was frequently filled with the realization of God's ever-presence and power; and so must our thought be, if we would expect only good. If we keep our vision single, recognizing only one God, one power, how should we expect anything but perfect good, since there is no real source from which anything else can come? How often we hear the expression, "Let us hope for the best," although the tone of voice indicates that the speaker is expecting the worst! What a joy it is to be able to deny that God sends evil to any of His children, and to affirm the allness of good!
