In our world today, one of the strongest displays of power is being calm. It’s all too easy to get fired up the moment we hear of something ugly and offensive. Choosing instead the peace and serenity that are based on knowing God’s presence at that moment has a healing effect.
Whether in the form of a slow burn or a quick, blazing flash, anger noticeably slows progress and reconciliation. Gritting your teeth and counting to ten is better than nothing, but it is unlikely to establish the genuine peace that is so needed. Much better, and much more empowering, is anchoring our thoughts in an acknowledgment of God’s active authority and goodness.
The quality of our thoughts always matters. My father taught me as a boy how to make a campfire. After we made a small fireplace out of rocks, what we needed next was some very dry tinder and small pieces of kindling. We used fallen leaves, curls of birchbark, and dry grass to light some thin sticks. Once burning, the fire would engulf larger pieces of wood until the flames were really dancing.
As we go through our day, might our thoughts sometimes be like that very dry grass, ready to flame up quickly as soon as we come into contact with even the smallest spark of offense? Or can our quality of thought be compared to the fireplace rocks that remain unconsumed while keeping the flames from spreading?
“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth,” says the Bible (Proverbs 26:20). Yes, when we embark upon each day, not carrying with us the “wood” that represents flammable sensitivity, but instead letting our thoughts come from the encircling Rock that is God, we feel divine authority and maturity. In her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defines “rock” metaphysically, in part, as “spiritual foundation; Truth” (p. 593).
It is encouraging – and heartening – to note how Christ Jesus stood mentally on the Rock, the spiritual foundation, that is God, divine Truth, when a powerful Roman governor (Pontius Pilate) who was serving under the rule of Emperor Tiberius threatened Jesus unjustly with death. You can feel Jesus’ steadfast allegiance to Truth in his calm response: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11). And just a few days later, this was proven true by Jesus’ resurrection.
Following Jesus’ example, we can adopt an allegiance to the same spiritual foundation by nurturing and growing in our understanding of the allness of God. Then we will be prepared, no matter how temptations may come, not to get inflamed by impositions, insults, and offenses that speak to the opposite belief in some other presence or power. We can recognize that it’s God’s nature that deserves and demands our attention, not the world’s fiery anger.
The Bible says of God, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Note how there is no dry, flammable kindling of commotion in us whenever thought is feeling the peace of being fixed on what God is and does.
Importantly, there’s no need to be discouraged if we do find ourselves inflamed about something. Right then and there, we can resolve to renew and strengthen our efforts. Each hour of the day is a fresh starting line, and the more we practice it, the more natural it becomes to rise up from anger, stand calmly on the Rock of Truth, and speak and act in ways that help and heal.
This is more than a human discipline of thought. It is a response to the grace of Christ, Truth. As a result, we see that God is in control of His spiritual creation, which is the only reality. It is a joy to receive and respond to the Christ rather than be carried away by the blinding intensity and resentment that come from seeing things the way the world sees them. Mrs. Eddy counsels, “Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, – the reflection of God, – has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth” (Science and Health, p. 333).
Although humanity’s salvation may appear to come in fits and starts, God’s healing influence always penetrates and gets through callous self-righteousness and indifference. Waiting for humankind to come up with needed solutions independent of God can bring volatile impatience. But injustice has no divine support, and calm trust in divinely impelled progress is prayer that ultimately moves things along more smoothly. Along with David, we can declare, “Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation” (Psalms 62:1).
Every time you choose in prayer to feel the powerful calm of God’s presence, goodness, and affection rather than becoming lit up by the fires of worldly thought, you are doing something wonderful. You are glorifying God and contributing to human progress in the most powerful way.
About The Author
