If one becomes lost in a wilderness area, the picture may be one of desperation, emptiness, and loneliness. On the other hand, one may find previously untapped resources: fortitude, endurance, and hope.
Most people don't have to face the challenge of survival in the wilderness, but at times many of us have to work our way out of long, difficult struggles. Often these hard times force us to turn to God for help. We may need to do much mental searching before an answer to our problem becomes apparent. Sometimes, wrapped up in the minutiae of circumstances, we fail to recognize the progress we are making.
We may wonder why we seem to have to go through a long trial. In reality, we are never lost, never out of harmony with God. Nothing can separate us from Him or take away our health, home, supply, or activity, because these are actually spiritual. But the truth must become clear to us in order for us to overcome the suggestions that would at times seem to isolate us from good.
Each step taken through the wilderness of false beliefs is a challenge to grow in our understanding of Life, God. We learn to turn from matter to Life as the source of all good. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "The sharp experiences of belief in the supposititious life of matter, as well as our disappointments and ceaseless woes, turn us like tired children to the arms of divine Love. Then we begin to learn Life in divine Science." Science and Health, p. 322;
During times when I have struggled with a prolonged problem, the negative, or mortal mind, characteristics that typify a wilderness experience have seemed very real to me. Mrs. Eddy gives as the first part of the definition of "wilderness" in the Glossary of Science and Health, "Loneliness; doubt; darkness." As I have turned more diligently to God, seeking a better understanding of His ever-present help and nearness, there gradually has dawned on my thought the spiritual meaning in the second part of the definition: "Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence." ibid., p. 597;
Applying my understanding of this definition to my own situation, I have been able to realize that right where I was I could be in that vestibule of which Mrs. Eddy speaks. I have seen that times of hardship can be wonderful opportunities to stay close to God, rely on Him for every need, and learn firsthand of His healing power and effective help.
Christian Science shows us that right when, to material sense, we seem to be wandering in doubt, fear, and confusion, in reality we are at one with God. As we admit the nothingness of disobedience, sensuality, ingratitude, and selfishness and live accordingly, we are freed from the punishment these negative mental states would impose upon us. At any time we can turn from them.
Each individual, in reality, is a perfect child of God, and not one can be lost. Because God is Principle, the qualities of order, stability, and permanence are expressed in His creation, nullifying confusion and insecurity. And because God is all-powerful divine Love, good can never be absent or delayed. Love destroys fear and supplies all human needs in ways that are comprehensible at our present level of understanding. As we make our way through the wilderness of material thinking, we can demonstrate these truths proportionately to our understanding of them and see tangible evidence of our progress. Thus an extended time of hardship and searching can be the catalyst that brings about spiritual growth.
It's enlightening to remember that throughout their forty years of wilderness wanderings, the children of Israel were sustained and cared for by God. Nehemiah recalls, "Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not." Neh. 9:21; We may tend to think of this entire period as wasted years of aimless wandering; actually, it was in many ways a time of much spiritual and human progress for those who were faithful to God. Order and discipline were established among the disorganized throng that had fled from Egypt. Many times Moses demonstrated to his followers the power of Spirit over matter. They learned that God is the source of supply, as manna was provided for food each day and water sprang from the rock.
From Moses' communion with God on Mount Sinai came the Ten Commandments, a milestone in religious and moral thought. These inspired laws helped to establish firmly in human thought the truth that there is only one God. The foundations for Hebrew worship and a stable society were thus being laid, forming the basis for a culture that could prepare the way for Christianity.
The qualities of thought we exercise in the wilderness determine whether it will be a time of peace and progress or otherwise. When we see that we are the perfect image of God, we can claim and express God-derived qualities that will guide and protect us through any difficulty: wisdom, strength, courage, persistence, serenity, patience, love.
Mrs. Eddy spent many years in frustration, ill health, and hardship before she arrived at her place as the Leader of the Christian Science movement. Homeless and poor, she was forced to move many times. These were her wilderness years. During them she was progressing in her search for the Science of the Christ. After her healing of the effects of a serious fall on the ice, she withdrew from society to enter upon a period of close communion with God and steady spiritual progress. She writes: "For three years after my discovery, I sought the solution of this problem of Mind-healing, searched the Scriptures and read little else, kept aloof from society, and devoted time and energies to discovering a positive rule. The search was sweet, calm, and buoyant with hope, not selfish nor depressing." Science and Health, p. 109;
During Christ Jesus' years of public ministry, there is no evidence that he had a permanent home. He moved constantly from city to city, but we do not read that he felt unsettled or afraid. The Bible records that he sometimes went alone or with his disciples into the mountains or desert to pray, to find spiritual refreshment. The same Christliness that Jesus embodied we can reflect. It is present today to sustain us in any wilderness experience.
As we accept the Christ, Truth, in our thinking, we can reverse doubt, fear, and disorientation and replace them with the calm of God's omnipresent healing power. We then can enter the wilderness as Jesus did, consciously seeking a closer unity with God, a better receptivity to His healing truths. We can know the falsity of the suggestions of fear and discord that would make us think we are helpless, lost wanderers. Following a course marked by Truth, we are assured of progress.
We all need times to be alone with God. It's not always possible to go off into a quiet mountain or undisturbed forest to commune with Him, but we can at any time turn from materiality. A difficult phase of life can be an opportunity to wend our way out of false beliefs and grow in spiritual understanding. With God's guidance, we needn't fear losing our way. We learn in Christian Science that doubt, loneliness, fear, confusion, suffering, and lack are unreal, powerless suggestions of evil, or mortal mind. We can welcome a wilderness experience for its potential as a joyful time of conscious unity with God—a time of peace, progress, and dominion. Isaiah's prophecy can be realized: "The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." Isa. 35:1.
