Some time ago I began to experience an erratic heartbeat. These episodes seemed to come on suddenly and for no particular reason. Although my daily activities were not affected, the frequency of the episodes was a distraction at work, and the symptoms were particularly aggressive at night after I went to bed. Sometimes I also had pains in my chest. I actually started to dread nighttime, because I couldn’t seem to find any comfort or release from the symptoms.
One night in particular, the symptoms woke me out of a sound sleep, and I became very fearful. I decided to ask a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me for healing, and so I could gain a sense of peace, as the fear seemed to be consuming my thought.
A Bible verse I found particularly comforting as I prayed was Psalms 118:17. It says, “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” Substituting you for I, I took this to be both a promise and a command: “You shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” This verse reminded me that I had an important job to do—to demonstrate every day that I am the expression of God, divine Life, and that God is expressing spiritual qualities in me, such as creativity, joy, and selflessness. And because God is causing me to be His expression, there could be no physical problem to weigh me down and serve as an obstacle to my expressing God fully and completely. I found great comfort just knowing that I live by divine law—in fact, everyone in God’s creation does—and that we have the God-given authority to stand with divine Truth and overcome fear and sickness.
