"Every day makes its demands upon us for higher proofs rather than professions of Christian power," Science and Health, p. 233. Mrs. Eddy says. If we obey this demand and rise to such demonstration by reaching the understanding of God and man which higher proofs require, progress will be increasingly painless and joyful. But if, ignorantly or willfully, we do not meet this demand, we may awake to its urgency through some discomfort or bitterness.
The human mind is often less inclined to listen spiritually than to feel through the senses. Consequently, when there is discomfort, attention may be drawn to the discomfort rather than to what brings it—neglect of or nonconformity to spirituality. The discomfort may seem to be physical, or it may be mental anguish, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, despair, or bitterness. And effort may be made to remove the pain or the bitterness without first meeting the demand made upon us for higher proofs. But healing and progress come only as we understand what God's demand is and how it is met.
The divine order of healing is based upon the fact that God knows our need and is lovingly and surely leading us to know it ourselves, that we may conform to His demand. Mrs. Eddy points out, for example, that the sense of loneliness, of yearning for the closeness of personal friends upon whom one may rely, is a warning rather than a dilemma itself. She asks: "Would existence without personal friends be to you a blank? Then the time will come when you will be solitary, left without sympathy; but this seeming vacuum is already filled with divine Love. When this hour of development comes, even if you cling to a sense of personal joys, spiritual Love will force you to accept what best promotes your growth." Ibid., p. 266 .
