In November 2019, aggressive flu-like symptoms such as I’d never before experienced came upon me suddenly. It was a struggle not to become overwhelmed by the severity of the problem. Intuitively, I reached out to God, my Father-Mother. Over the years, I’ve felt a wonderful relationship to God of love and trust, which has resulted in healings of all kinds. So that’s where I turn for help at any time and under all circumstances.
In this instance, as I turned to God for direction on what specific erroneous belief to refute in prayer, the word occultism came to mind. The belief in evil as subtle, dark, and hidden, occultism includes all magic, secret so-called knowledge, supernatural powers, and the like. I knew that divine Science authoritatively reveals all evil influence (the meaning of the Italian word influenza, from which flu is derived) to be mental in origin and that it must and can be destroyed mentally through divine law—through spiritually scientific prayer.
Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Christian Science goes to the bottom of mental action, and reveals the theodicy which indicates the rightness of all divine action, as the emanation of divine Mind, and the consequent wrongness of the opposite so-called action,—evil, occultism, necromancy, mesmerism, animal magnetism, hypnotism” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 104).
I vehemently denounced the belief of occultism, or the supernatural, in all its known (visible) and latent (hidden) forms. Despite the symptoms, I felt safely “clad in the panoply of Love” (Science and Health, p. 571), where no form of apparent evil could affect me.
Very soon, several ideas from the Bible and Science and Health came to my rescue by rousing my thinking. The first was the command, “Fear not; I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:13). I couldn’t be afraid while standing in divine Love’s (God’s) presence.
Another was the account of David prevailing over the giant warrior, Goliath. Before they engaged, David took a mental stand for the all-power of God, and he spoke to Goliath as follows: “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand” (I Samuel 17:45, 46). The Christ light, “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9), protected David and fully equipped him with divine authority and power—with the might for a definitive victory. With God’s help, David prevailed over Goliath; and through this same help, I was able to prevail over all fear of contagion and evil.
As I considered these ideas, I felt the soothing love of God’s presence fill and strengthen me. Some of the symptoms began to recede, proving that I was on the right track.
One by one, every lie opposed to God, including the belief that evil is real and equal to or more powerful than God, was seen through and dismantled with specific, scientific, Christly truths. This idea from page 228 of Science and Health helped me stay on track mentally: “There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God”—to lose the battle, I thought. The fact of God’s allness became the overarching light that governed my prayers.
From the inception of this difficulty, it was clear to me that despite the extreme picture presented, the illness was nothing but an illusion, a hypnotic mental suggestion or projection of what the Bible calls the carnal mind. And I knew that only through the acceptance of this suggestion could it play out or be manifested in my experience.
In between periods of struggle, I found rest and renewal in God and refused to react to any of the ugly symptoms that reared up. At one point, unsettling thoughts came to mind about supposedly inherited family health traits and personal history. I was named after an aunt who had died in her teens from tuberculosis, and during my childhood I too had suffered from respiratory problems. There was also the thought that I might be more at risk because of being a senior citizen. All these fears were faced down as the majesty of Christian Science, the demonstrable laws of God, took full and firm command of the situation.
One night in the midst of intense breathing difficulties, I heard these transformative words in thought: “The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life” (Job 33:4). This truth resonated deeply within me, and I knew it was absolutely true for me and for all mankind.
What it meant to me was this: The spirit of God made me Godlike—100 percent spiritual and good, always perfect and safe—and the breath of the Almighty, the sustaining law of divine Life, is my life. God’s law is of perpetual health and harmony, and evil has no power to tamper with or diminish that law, because there are not two powers in God’s universe, but one.
These truths strengthened my resolve and reassured me. A gentle peace settled my heart, and I was able to rest. The symptoms lessened greatly and then completely faded away in less than a week, thanks to God, the great Physician. I have had no such difficulties since, and this experience proved to me that it is God who gives us our innate immunity. We are inherently complete.
I am very grateful for the ability that Christian Science gives us to prove unequivocally that God is a very present and effective help in trouble. Anyone struggling with any ailment can reach out and tangibly feel the healing presence of God’s tender, mothering care for all of Her children.
During this time I frequently asked myself, “Can anything possibly stand and face off against the supreme power of the universe—against omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient goodness and Love?” This beautiful response from Science and Health sums up the answer: “The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and glory of infinite Love fill all space. That is enough!” (p. 520).
Carmen Diaz-Bolton
Nokomis, Florida, US
