Coming home from a long trip and settling down again can feel comforting. But the Bible speaks of a deeper comfort found in returning to God, in maintaining a steady, settled communion with Him. "For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." Isa. 30: 15. Such communing in prayer gives a steadiness and solid foundation to our endeavors. But to maintain spiritual stillness in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day living requires consistent work. It involves recognizing our conscious oneness with the source of intelligence and creativity—with God.
We can't be all things to all people. Our concern should always be to please and serve God. At first, this may seem to involve giving up many pleasures of life. But by pruning whatever would keep us from living God-centered, unselfed lives, we have the opportunity to utilize more effectively the gifts God has given us with which to bless others. There is no greater pleasure or more rewarding work than to do the work God has given us. This work is not to add to our storehouse of, or comfort in, matter. It is to wake up from the dream of life, intelligence, and pleasure in matter to the absolute allness and goodness of God and His idea.
This demand is not something to be feared; it is the by-product of our step-by-step spiritual growth. Answering faithfully each call to prove more of the allness and oneness of God and the consequent nothingness of matter and its false attraction prepares one for the steps ahead. Each step is equally important both to individual progress and to the betterment of mankind.
