"Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?" Gal. 5:7; There sometimes seem to be innumerable enemies hindering us from obeying Truth, from being aware of God's goodness and love instead of discord and evil. The hindering influences of mortal belief seem to go on interminably. Yet we have the promise of salvation if we follow the example of Christ Jesus. And the testimonies of those healed and regenerated through Christian Science give us confidence that there is a way to obey Truth, God, and be free.
Perhaps the specific human shortcoming with which we are dealing is depicted in the Bible when a man, asked by Jesus to believe in the power of God, cried in tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark 9:24; At that moment, he wanted more than anything else to leave his human fears and doubts for the peace and calm of spiritual conviction, but he didn't know what to do to get there. That which was holding him back and continues in some way to hinder each of us is "unbelief," doubts about the ever-presence of God's perfect law and creation, which we have in times of stress.
Like the man in the Bible, it seems easier for us to know that we need to strengthen our trust in God's all-power and goodness than to actually do it. The question for us to consider when we are in pain, in need of healing, and our prayers have not healed us is, What can we do about our "unbelief"?
Mrs. Eddy shows us where to begin, for she writes in Science and Health, "The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind,—that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle." Science and Health, p. 275.
If we are going to start with God, Spirit, we have to start with the Mind that is God instead of the human mind; start with Soul's identification of man instead of with unreliable material sense evaluation; start with the power of Life instead of the weakness of human existence; start with impartial, all-embracing Love instead of selective, part-time human affection. By this change of base from human reasoning about God to spiritual knowing, we can start experiencing confidence instead of mortal unbelief.
This is "now" consciousness, not "going-to-be" or "hope-in-the-future" consciousness. There is no evolution from mortality to immortality in the divine Mind, so there can be no such evolution in Mind's reflection, man. The thought "I am progressing spiritually, and I will be healed as my understanding increases" may actually postpone healing. It includes unacceptance of God's, and therefore man's, present perfection. But the consciousness of man's perfection is always inspired and inspiring. Man is never developing from mortal pain and despair into heavenly harmony—he is already there and always has been.
I had an experience that was important to me in learning how to leave the "unbelief" of mortal fear and pain for the calm and perfect harmony of divine knowing. I returned from a trip with an ear infection accompanied by almost unbearable pain and a loss of hearing in one ear. Although I asked for help from a Christian Science practitioner and struggled mightily to overcome the difficulty myself, the situation became steadily worse. I called on another practitioner with no better results and felt as though there was nowhere I could turn to get relief from the pain.
One evening I picked up the Christian Science textbook with a deep conviction that somewhere in it was the truth needed to heal me. Although I was unable to read, I could concentrate on a word at a time and really reach out for a communication from Truth. The thought came to me that I would be all right and would be able to think clearly enough to be healed if I could only stop being conscious of the pain. Immediately I realized I am only conscious of good—in reality—because God is my consciousness. This was much more than mere words. It was solid conviction of the now of perfect consciousness, and I was so filled with joy that I shouted the good news aloud.
I was no longer identifying myself as a mortal, thinking about God. I was no longer feeling separated from Him in any way. I was at one with His consciousness of good. Immediately I was healed of the pain, and in a few days, as I maintained this joy-filled divine consciousness, my hearing was completely restored.
This experience was a breakthrough, which opened to me a whole new and more scientific method of applying Christian Science. I had discovered to a greater degree what it means to start with God and stay with God. It is to claim, declare, and be convinced of the one divine consciousness, or Mind, as being the only consciousness present and possible. By doing this, one can feel something of what Moses must have felt when he realized that God is the great I am of all being. This realization inspires thought with confidence that no problem is insurmountable.
By leaving the human mind's struggle to overcome fear for the divine Mind's consciousness of perfect harmony we strike at the very basis of all mortal ills, for the only reality that sin, disease, or death can seem to have derives from the human mind's fearful "unbelief" in the allness of God. The attempt to heal matter must fail, for matter is not the source of the problem, and is not in need of healing, for matter is not real. In starting with God and by knowing the truth of man, the belief of a diseased body, alias mortal, fear-filled unbelief, must fade, leaving only the glory of radiant health and confidence.
There is nothing hindering us from obeying divine Truth and having one God, one consciousness, or Mind, because this only Mind is our Mind. This Mind knows the truth now, expresses pure harmony and love now. As Mind's reflection, man is already perfect.
We can always heal our unbelief by being convinced of the fact that the divine consciousness is our consciousness.
