Over the years, I have loved pondering the Apostle Paul’s mission of extending Christianity across a broad swath of Asia Minor, Greece, and what was then the Roman empire. With each new venture he encountered challenges, at times severe. Yet, invariably—tested though he was, and his spiritual capacities enlisted to the utmost—he would witness God’s delivering and healing presence in ways that blessed not only himself but the growing Christian community and the larger culture, with which he so yearned to share the gospel’s saving message.
While our own trials may not be as extreme as many of Paul’s (he cited imprisonment for preaching the gospel of Christ, stoning, danger at sea, and even “perils among false brethren” [see II Corinthians 11:23–27]), nonetheless we do face challenges. And some can appear formidable when we’re in the thick of them!
I am finding increasingly in my own life and practice of Christian Science that it matters how I view challenges when they arise. Often the spiritual assurance will come to thought: “This is not a trial; this is God’s occasion to raise up a witness in proof of what Christ-healing is all about.” For me, this has the effect of upending the assumption that there is power and causation in matter, human personalities, and material circumstances, and compelling me to acknowledge promptly that God, Spirit, alone is the determining authority in the situation.
